International. The World Economic Forum presented five reasons why sustainable wood should become an essential global building material, highlighting its role in reducing emissions and its impact on industrial sectors such as paints and coatings.
According to the report, when wood comes from sustainably and climate-smart managed forests, it has the capacity to accumulate large volumes of carbon, making it an essential instrument in the battle against climate change. "Trees absorb atmospheric carbon and a considerable amount of this carbon is stored in their woody biomass even after being cut down and processed to produce wood," the report states. This storage is maintained if the wood is reused in long-lasting products.
Buildings built with green wood also create jobs, boost the local economy and require fewer emissions to produce, compared to materials such as steel or concrete. In these circumstances, the paints and coatings sector finds new opportunities for innovation, as the care and protection of wood surfaces requires the production of specialised products, such as low-VOC paints and coatings that are resistant to moisture, UV rays or pests.
In addition, the report indicates that technological advances have facilitated the transformation of wood into solid wood through layering and pressing procedures, generating highly resistant structures. "Solid wood has been proven to be resistant to fire and earthquakes." "It is difficult to set on fire and can withstand earthquakes and intense explosions," the report states.
The Climate-Smart Forest Economy Program (CSFEP), together with initiatives such as Easy Housing, promotes the use of prefabricated wooden houses that offer housing solutions resistant to natural disasters. These structures need particular treatments to ensure their longevity, which places coating technologies as fundamental partners for their long-term conservation.
From the point of view of the paint sector, this increase in the use of sustainable wood in construction symbolizes a growing market for wood protection and decoration products, generating opportunities for the creation of new environmentally friendly solutions with high technical performance.
