Improved ecoeffectiveness of interior hardwood products in the house-building industry as a way to promote sustainable forestry

Abstract Sawn hardwood is required by the market to be homogeneous, even in texture and colour, but the products produced by Swedish hardwood sawmills exhibit a wide variation in characteristics. This makes it difficult for hardwood sawmills to find profitable markets for all their products. By developing new products with other properties for the building industry it may be possible to utilize hardwood more efficiently and increase the prices. This would result in higher ecoeffectiveness (defined as value in relation to environmental impact) of the forest-related business system by giving an incentive to grow deciduous forests, which leads to richer biological diversity. Diversity is fundamental to achieving sustainable forestry. At the same time, other less ecoefficient materials in buildings may be replaced. Exploring the requirements of the customers is essential before developing new products, in order to maximize the value of a product. In this study, the requirements of interior hardwood products in the Swedish house-building industry were studied in interviews and through questionnaires. The most important requirements, ranked higher than price, are delivery on time, shape stability, packaged products, rapid delivery and accurate moisture content. The results make it possible to focus on critical factors to gain market shares for hardwood as an ecoeffective building material.

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