WoodPoP Expert Group Meeting – Looking Back, Leaping Forward
A notable highlight was the presentation by the European Forestry Institute on a recent study entitled “Taking a Bird’s Eye View of EU Wood-based Policy”. The study underscores the fragmented nature of current European wood policies. Recommendations included enhancing policy coherence to leverage wood’s strategic benefits for climate mitigation and circular economy goals.
The group discussed upcoming initiatives, such as the search for a new name for an award that is planned to be sponsored by WoodPoP – a biennially awarded distinction designed to promote innovation and excellence in wood use in construction across Europe.
The meeting featured updates from the Technical Working Groups Governance, Building, Innovation & Research, Education & Vocational Training, and Communication & Information. The new co-leads, Luxembourg (TWG Innovation and Research) and Ireland (TWG Communication and Information), were welcomed.
The Technical Working Group Governance will focus on the translation of the Wood Policy Paper and outreach efforts with European stakeholders, as well as the creation of a Wood Fund to support the various activities of the platform in the mid-term.
The Technical Working Group Building presented an update on the upcoming Public Procurement Study and the planned meeting on Wood, Health and Wellbeing at the Wood Construction Forum in Innsbruck in December 2025.
The Technical Working Group Innovation will build upon the outputs of yesterday’s workshop to develop an Innovation Guide.
The Technical Working Group on Education & Vocational Training has presented the First Draft of the Policy Brief “Wood-based sector requires skilled workforce to propel Europe towards a sustainable future” for consideration of the EGM.
Lastly, the Technical Working Group Communication and Information, in addition to their work on the Wood Prize, presented their plans for accompanying communication activities.
The WoodPoP Secretariat updated the group on the WoodPoP Cloud Guide, a document designed to simplify navigation of the WoodPoP Cloud, and highlighted its LinkedIn presence and biannual newsletter, WoodFlash.
The meeting also featured updates on international processes such as COLI or the “Country & Organisation-Led Initiative” featuring a Global Webinar Series (link) that runs from March 2025 to December 2025 and a side-event during the UNFF20 on 6 May 2025. Other international events were mentioned such as the “Wood Vibes -health, well-being and sound” on September 2025 in Tokyo, Japan, the International Congress “WOODRise” on 22-25 September 2025 in Vancouver, Canada, and the World Congress on Timber Engineering 2025 on 22-26 June 2025 in Brisbane, Australia.
The 6th Expert Group Meeting concluded with a discussion on the preparations for the next High-Level Meeting in Izola, Slovenia, on 15 October 2025, emphasising training and skills development to revitalise the appeal of pursuing careers and education within the wood sector as well as the need for interministerial cooperation to support the sector.
The 6th Expert Group Meeting concluded with a tour of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag)’s NEST. NEST is a modular research building where participants saw innovative construction and energy technologies in action.
Presentations from the 6th Expert Group Meeting
- WoodPoP TWG Updates, Secretariat Updates, and Joint Reflection on the next steps for WoodPoP
- Wood Policy and Innovation Conference in Brussels by Uwe Kies (InnovaWood) & Veronica Steinhofer-Juch (IUFRO)
- A bird’s eye view of EU Forest policy and wood in construction by Filip Aggestam (EFI-FPRN)
- Country & Organization-Led Initiative by Raphaela Hellmayr (BMLUK)
- Preparation for the next WoodPoP High Level Meeting on 15 October 225 in Izola, Slovenia by Andreja Kutnar (InnoRenew CoE)