Wood-based panels

Fedustria continues to call for applying a cascading use of wood as the basis for a sustainable biomass policy, which means: first use, then reuse and recycling, and only in the very last instance, incineration with energy recovery. The production of wood-based panels ensures that all wood raw material is utilised to the maximum extent, but this then means that the availability of wood is crucial for the survival of this sector. As such, using wood-based panels plays an important role in the transition to a circular, bio-based economy.

Wood-based panels are often used in construction and home furnishings, e.g. for structural applications, in (kitchen) furniture, as wall and floor cladding, etc. Thanks to innovation, the possibilities are therefore endless and impressively multi-faceted.

Recycled wood, fresh timber, glues and additives are all used in the production of wood-based panels. All these raw materials easily meet the stipulated standards, as well as REACH.

Adopting national rules or local obligations on top of existing European regulations undermines the functioning of the European single market and hinders free competition. That is why Fedustria - together with the European Panel Federation (EPF) - is seeking to retain CE marking for construction products instead of a system of mutual recognition. It must not be possible that states can impose additional restrictions on compositions, or emissions of volatile compounds (VOCs). In any case, such restrictions distort the EU market and the free movement of goods.

To avoid unfair competition, Fedustria and EPF are demanding that wood-based panels, or derivative products, which are imported from outside the EU, must meet the same strict standards as panels produced in the EU.