Sustainable Utilization of Forestry Side Streams to Promote Circular Bioeconomy
Favén, Leena; Vanaga, Ilona; Vārpin, Zane; Vārpiņš, Viesturs; Włóka, Dariusz; Rybak, Wojciech; Smol, Marzena; Osiadacz, Jarosław; Marcinek, Paulina; Korpinen, Risto; Ylkänen, Yrjö; Laurila, Jussi; Athanassiadis, Dimitris; Klavins, Linards; Šalaševičienė, Alvija (2025)
Centria University of Applied Sciences
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20251014101410
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20251014101410
Tiivistelmä
THE EUROPEAN Bioeconomy Strategy and it`s Action Plan, adopted 2018, aims to promote the bio-based sector for investments and market development. It emphasizes replacing fossil-based materials with bio-based raw materials and products. The EU Bioeconomy Strategy has five key goals:
1.Ensure food and nutrition security
2.Manage natural resources sustainably
3.Reduce dependence on non-renewable and unsustainable resources
4.Limit and adapt to climate change
5.Strengthen European competitiveness and create jobs.
New EU bioeconomy strategy is being prepared and it should be finalized by the end of the year 2025. Bioeconomy is seen as one of the drivers for Europe’s Green Growth. The new strategy will be designed to increase efficient and circular use of biological resources, scale up markets for bio-based products, materials and industries that substitute fossil-based inputs and ensure a sustainably-sourced and resilient biomass supply across sectors.
The EU Circular Economy Action Plan, adopted in 2015, aims to transition the European economy from a linear to a circular model. This plan includes 54 actions promoting circular economy practices. It encompasses initiatives along the entire life cycle of products, promotes circular economy processes, and fosters sustainable consumption. The goal is to ensure that resources are retained within the EU economy for as long as possible. Additionally, it focuses on sectors that use the most resources and have high potential for circularity. The circular economy action plan targets the entire life-cycle of products – the design, sustainable consumption and prevention of waste.
EU Member States have committed to making the EU the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This requires reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
As a prerequisite to reach the set climate neutrality goals the European Commission has adopted the circular economy action plan which contributes to the EU Green Deal by enabling the circular use of biomass and producing high value-added products from side and waste streams, such as bark residues and logging residue.
In 2023 the Monitoring framework was revised to support the circular economy and climate neutrality goals within the European Green Deal – the framework evaluates the progress and the direct and indirect benefits of its adoption thus allowing authorities and policy makers to identify optimal solutions.
Policy Area Bioeconomy is one of the fourteen policy areas related to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. The Baltic Sea region has the potential to become a leading area in green growth and sustainable development. PA Bioeconomy includes actions related to forestry activities:
•Sustainable forestry and increased use of wood
•Sustainable food systems
•Bioeconomy trend analysis in the Baltic Sea region
•Promoting a more circular bioeconomy
•Multiple use of resources
•Sustainable bioeconomy and its contribution to climate change
The defined actions are set to decouple economic growth from the use of limited resources, instead the focus is on natural, bio-based and sustainable resources. Additionally, to the climate-neutrality goals, bioeconomy-based solutions are expected to create new business opportunities, local jobs and enable more resilient value chains that are self-sufficient.
Annual sawmill residues in the Baltic Sea region amount to over 1.48 million tonnes of dry bark and 2.25 million tonnes of sawdust—feedstocks sufficient to produce some 59 million kg of tannins (at a conservative 4% yield). By 6 co-locating extraction facilities with large sawmills and leveraging existing transport corridors, Finland and Sweden can lead on raw-material supply. All Baltic Sea Region countries can develop innovative processing technologies to convert these raw materials into high-value products.
1.Ensure food and nutrition security
2.Manage natural resources sustainably
3.Reduce dependence on non-renewable and unsustainable resources
4.Limit and adapt to climate change
5.Strengthen European competitiveness and create jobs.
New EU bioeconomy strategy is being prepared and it should be finalized by the end of the year 2025. Bioeconomy is seen as one of the drivers for Europe’s Green Growth. The new strategy will be designed to increase efficient and circular use of biological resources, scale up markets for bio-based products, materials and industries that substitute fossil-based inputs and ensure a sustainably-sourced and resilient biomass supply across sectors.
The EU Circular Economy Action Plan, adopted in 2015, aims to transition the European economy from a linear to a circular model. This plan includes 54 actions promoting circular economy practices. It encompasses initiatives along the entire life cycle of products, promotes circular economy processes, and fosters sustainable consumption. The goal is to ensure that resources are retained within the EU economy for as long as possible. Additionally, it focuses on sectors that use the most resources and have high potential for circularity. The circular economy action plan targets the entire life-cycle of products – the design, sustainable consumption and prevention of waste.
EU Member States have committed to making the EU the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This requires reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
As a prerequisite to reach the set climate neutrality goals the European Commission has adopted the circular economy action plan which contributes to the EU Green Deal by enabling the circular use of biomass and producing high value-added products from side and waste streams, such as bark residues and logging residue.
In 2023 the Monitoring framework was revised to support the circular economy and climate neutrality goals within the European Green Deal – the framework evaluates the progress and the direct and indirect benefits of its adoption thus allowing authorities and policy makers to identify optimal solutions.
Policy Area Bioeconomy is one of the fourteen policy areas related to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. The Baltic Sea region has the potential to become a leading area in green growth and sustainable development. PA Bioeconomy includes actions related to forestry activities:
•Sustainable forestry and increased use of wood
•Sustainable food systems
•Bioeconomy trend analysis in the Baltic Sea region
•Promoting a more circular bioeconomy
•Multiple use of resources
•Sustainable bioeconomy and its contribution to climate change
The defined actions are set to decouple economic growth from the use of limited resources, instead the focus is on natural, bio-based and sustainable resources. Additionally, to the climate-neutrality goals, bioeconomy-based solutions are expected to create new business opportunities, local jobs and enable more resilient value chains that are self-sufficient.
Annual sawmill residues in the Baltic Sea region amount to over 1.48 million tonnes of dry bark and 2.25 million tonnes of sawdust—feedstocks sufficient to produce some 59 million kg of tannins (at a conservative 4% yield). By 6 co-locating extraction facilities with large sawmills and leveraging existing transport corridors, Finland and Sweden can lead on raw-material supply. All Baltic Sea Region countries can develop innovative processing technologies to convert these raw materials into high-value products.