The Forest Products Sector: Circular By Design?

The Circular Economy is “a regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimized by slowing, closing, and narrowing material and energy loops” (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2015). The principles of the Circular Economy are intrinsic to the forest products industry: all parts of the tree, a renewable resource, can be used efficiently to manufacture products of high quality; products are recyclable; and residuals can be used for energy production or other purposes.

This NCASI fact sheet explores this circularity of the forest products sector and discusses opportunities for improvement and associated challenges.

For more information about this work, contact Kirsten Vice.