The European Confederation of the Wood Industry ( CEI-Bois ) held its 2022 Winter General Assembly on November 23, 2022, by videoconference.
The representatives of the General Assembly were pleased to note that the advocacy of CEI-Bois, with the support of its members, was rewarded during the year by the ever greater attention received by wood and its ability to store carbon and growing recognition of this climate advantage by European officials and politicians.
The year 2022 marked the 70th anniversary of CEI-Bois with a celebration that took place at the beginning of June in the town of Skellefteå, a living example of what a climate-conscious sustainable town should look like, with its various buildings made from locally sourced wood, in keeping with European Bauhaus goals.
Commenting on the discussions of CEI-Bois members, the President, Mr. Sampsa Auvinen, noted: “The increased use of wood and wood fiber products plays a key role in the global transition to a net zero economy by providing the world with climate-friendly products that support the circular bioeconomy. Our advocacy will continue with increased vigor in the coming months with the aim of ensuring that European policies recognize wood and wood fiber products as a strategic material in Europe because of its key role in achieving green deal objectives while guaranteeing employment in Europe. This is why CEI-Bois advocates for a carbon certification system that measures and rewards the storage of CO2 in wood products and creates opportunities for“
The CEI-Bois General Assembly also voted on the new composition of its Board of Directors. For the 2023-2024 Board, the General Assembly re-elected:
- Sampsa Auvinen, President;
- Filip De Jaeger, Fedustria;
- Ana Dijan, Croatian Wood Cluster;
- Keith Fryer, Fort Merchanting, on behalf of Timber Development UK;
- Rob van Hoesel, PKF pallets, on behalf of FEFPEB;
- Denny Ohnesorge, German Federation of the Wood Industry
For the 2023-2024 Board of Directors, the General Assembly elected:
- Antti Koulumies, UPM, on behalf of FWIF and FFIF (Finland);
- Mathias Fridholm (Director, Swedish Wood), on behalf of SFIF and TMF (Sweden); Michael Pfeifer, Pfeifer Holz, on behalf of the Austrian association.
The Assembly warmly thanked the outgoing members of the Board of Directors, Mr. Ek (former President, Sweden), Dr. Wiesner (Austria) and Mr. Mantyla (Finland), for their strong and valuable commitment to the Confederation.
The Assembly was also an opportunity for members to take stock of the progress of the implementation of the RESILIENTWOOD - 101051974 project, co-funded by the EU, and to discuss the opportunities and possible actions that CEI-Bois can undertake in 2023 as part of the European Year of Skills, to promote skills in the sector and improve the image of the wood industry.
Finally, during this meeting, CEI-Bois presented its advocacy report, a comprehensive overview of its activities undertaken between November 2021 and November 2022 and the work program of CEI-Bois 2023.
