This video from WBCSD’s Forest Solutions Group (FSG) describes the life cycle of forest products, starting in the sustainable working forests from which they originate. It aims to raise awareness of the role of forests and forest products in the global development agenda. Its simple narrative is centered around FSG’s mission to grow the circular bioeconomy and a thriving forest sector that sustains healthy productive forests and people’s well-being.

In sustainable working forests, the land is managed in balance with its natural surroundings, protecting and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems. These forests provide habitats for local wildlife, livelihoods for local communities, and they purify the water that we drink. The trees are regrown after every harvest, and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while they grow.

Renewable energy, from woody biomass, provides most of the energy needed to transform the wood into the products that we use every day. And inside these forest products, carbon is stored for the duration of their lifetime.

When sourced responsibly, forest products are renewable, and they can be recycled several times. Eventually they turn into bioenergy, which releases carbon dioxide for new trees to absorb and grow, thereby perpetuating the cycle.

Forest products lie at the heart of the transition to a low carbon circular bioeconomy. When consuming sustainable forest products, you are contributing to the solution.