Forest Products Industry

FSC has updated the FSC-POL-30-001a V1-1 Lists of Highly Hazardous Pesticides based on existing criteria, indicators, thresholds and sources through an accelerated revision process as described in FSC-PRO-01-001The Development and Revision of FSC Requirements. Source: Timberbiz The objective was to determine whether there have been any changes in the international recognised sources referenced by FSC since the last update. The FSC-POL-30-001a V1-1 Lists of Highly Hazardous Pesticides determine the hazard rating of chemical pesticides based on an existing set of criteria set out in Annex 1 of FSC-POL-30-001 V3-0 FSC Pesticides Policy. Such chemical pesticides are therefore considered to be highly hazardous in the FSC system and are classified as prohibited, highly restricted or restricted. There were 41 changes in total. These relate to the reclassification of pesticides, or the criteria met. Specifically, changes in the updated version include: 4 new pesticides were added 5 pesticides were deleted 8 pesticides were reclassified from one list to another There were 24 changes in the criteria that did not result in a reclassification to another list These changes marked in “track changes” in Draft 1-0 sent for consultation. This document is uploaded to the dedicated process page on FSC Connect, together with other relevant documents such as the consultation report. The updated FSC-POL-30-001a V1-1 Lists of Highly Hazardous Pesticides can be downloaded from the FSC Document Centre.

The AI application developed by Metsä Group and CollectiveCrunch for detecting insect damage has won the international Innovation of Innovations prize. Metsä Fibre’s Future Sawmill concept was recognised in the Business innovations category. Source: Timberbiz The international Quality Innovation Award (QIA) 2023 competition rewards the most notable innovations of the year. The award-winning application from Metsä Group and CollectiveCrunch detects insect damage in forests such as damage caused by spruce bark beetles before it is visible to the human eye. The application is based on artificial intelligence, machine learning and open data. The AI application shared the first prize with a technology innovation in the field of medicine. “Global warming is increasing the risks to the health of forests. This real-time method for detecting insect damage helps us preserve forest health and carbon sinks in a changing climate,” says Olli Leino, SVP, Development from Metsä Group’s Wood Supply and Forest Services. Metsä Group’s wood supply personnel has been using the application since June 2023. The application can be used to both pinpoint damage and schedule wood trade and harvesting to reduce the risk of damage spreading. The map material of risk sites produced by the application is visible in the Metsäverkko mobile application used by Metsä Group’s owner-members. If they wish, forest owners can use this material to visit the sites in person to check the risk areas and plan forestry work. The Future Sawmill concept developed by Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, was recognised in the Business Innovations (large companies) category. The concept improves the efficiency of sawn timber production, safety at work, the production operating model and product quality management. “We’re happy to have received this international recognition. We aim to develop the mechanical forest industry with industrial efficiency in mind. We wanted to create a concept for our sawmill, which is the most modern in the world, a forerunner in its technology, operating model and efficiency, and a global trendsetter in the field. This resulted in the Future Sawmill concept, which we used at our Rauma pine sawmill that came online in 2022,” says Ismo Nousiainen, Metsä Fibre’s CEO. The Quality Innovation Award was now organised for the 17th time. This year, the competition received 562 entries from eight countries/areas, and the best 24 of them were rewarded. The winners of national quality contests can enter the international competition. National quality associations selected the winners in a tight vote. The China Association for Quality hosted the traditional award ceremony in April 2024. Video presentation of the application here. The production process uses standard sheets of ​​​​timber. A robot cuts the sheets into components and assembles them into units that are transported to site, enabling complete customized homes to be built in a matter of weeks.

ABB Robotics announced it is collaborating with UK-based tech start-up AUAR, to advance the use of robotic micro-factories to build affordable, sustainable low energy timber homes. Source: Timberbiz AUAR’s transformative approach to integrating robotic automation into the building process will tackle skills shortages, boost sustainability, and improve health and safety by deploying robots in a global network of local micro-factories. These micro-factories will construct energy-efficient, affordable buildings from ​sheet timber​. AUAR reports today that it has completed a £2.6M seed round led by deep-tech and AI fund Miles Ahead, alongside ABB Robotics & Automation Ventures and several other investors. “The increasing capabilities of robots enabled by vision and AI, coupled with their inherent speed, flexibility and consistency, makes them the ideal solution for meeting the growing need for affordable, high quality, sustainable housing,” said Craig McDonnell, Managing Director Business Line Industries, ABB Robotics. “With 95% of building firms in our recent market survey describing sustainability as ‘important’ or ‘very important’ to their businesses, and 38% seeing robots as a way of reducing waste, our collaboration with AUAR opens new possibilities for homebuilders to deliver affordable sustainable homes at scale.” ABB is already heavily involved in helping construction companies automate their processes. ABB robots are widely used in a range of modular assembly and 3D printing building projects worldwide, as well as academic projects researching new ways to integrate robotic automation into construction.  The collaboration with AUAR follows the announcement by ABB working with German management consulting firm, Porsche Consulting, to develop innovative new practices in modular housing manufacture. ​​​​​AUAR is the brainchild of two architects​,​ Mollie Claypool (CEO) and Gilles Retsin (CTO/Chief Architect​) who have worked for over 10 years on robotics, automation, construction, and architecture. During that time, they have relied extensively on support from ABB Robotics to realize their vision. The relationship has already seen ABB Robotics win the prize for ‘Best Use of Robotics or Automation in Construction’ at the 2023 Robotics & Automation Awards. AUAR’s automated micro-factory approach provides a solution to many of the challenges facing building companies, including supply chain issues, project delivery and quality and skills shortages. Conventional buildings consist of thousands of different components shipped from around the world, making it almost impossible to automate construction. In contrast, AUAR’s goal is to work with one type of material and one type of machine to dramatically simplify the supply chain. While many of the assembly tasks are automated, AUAR’s approach supports local jobs by promoting the use of micro-factories close to construction sites, where local contractors and suppliers can coordinate delivery. The micro-factory approach is flexible enough to meet whatever each market demands. Each facility can be scaled to reflect local needs, with the ability to ramp up production by adding modular robot cells. “With the focus on the dual needs of building more affordable homes and minimizing the environmental footprint of buildings throughout their lifetime, automated modular construction presents a great opportunity to rethink the way that the buildings are constructed,” added McDonnell. “Our collaborations with AUAR and Porsche Consulting mark an exciting step in our efforts to accelerate the use of robotic automation in the construction industry to help address its challenges and deliver the sustainable buildings of the future.”

Joe Karten has news for anyone who thought the work-from-home revolution might convince tech giant Atlassian to cancel plans to build one of the world’s most environmentally sustainable skyscrapers in downtown Sydney. Source: Commercial Real Estate “We are out of the ground; out and away,” he says of the reinforced concrete core that has been laid as the foundation for the $1.5 billion Atlassian Central building. Karten is head of sustainability at construction giant Built, the company tasked with turning Atlassian’s green dream into 39 storeys of low-carbon reality. Atlassian Central was designed to have half the embodied carbon of a typical building and Karten told the Tech Zero podcast it would set a new standard for the construction industry at a time when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that buildings are responsible for 21 per cent of global emissions. “An aspiration for that project was to create a lighthouse to effectively change the standard that we will expect for buildings,” says Karten. Atlassian Central’s low-carbon goal will be achieved by using mass timber – a building material made from reinforced wood – in many places where concrete and steel would normally be used. Photovoltaic cells will be built into the exterior of the building while the aluminium used for louvres and window frames will be a super-low-carbon product made at Rio Tinto’s hydro-electric smelter in New Zealand. The concrete and steel that make up the core of the building are also low carbon versions of those materials, and the design will maximise natural ventilation to reduce power consumption for airconditioning. “What Atlassian has done has really set the bar high at a global level. And we’re going to see a lot of action around buildings that really tackle embodied carbon in a real and authentic way,” says Karten. Located next to Sydney’s Central railway station, the tower will cater for 5000 occupants. Atlassian says it expects staff to be housed there from 2027 onward. The tech giant is pushing ahead with the project despite offering staff a “work from anywhere” policy. Karten says smart companies see attractive, environmentally friendly workplaces as an asset in the competition for talent, even if the price tag on such buildings is higher. “They’ve [Atlassian] made no secret of the fact that they didn’t require the standard property developer margins on that project,” he says. “They invested some extra money of their own to create a real icon of a project. Now, that’s invaluable, because attracting talent, we know in tech, the war for talent is fierce. “Generation Y and younger are really preferencing sustainability on equal, if not more preferential terms than the economic or the financial. So it actually makes sense. “Just building the cheapest building is not attractive. It’s not going to get the right result.” The tech giant will own a minority stake in Atlassian Central, believed to be about 35 per cent, and will be the anchor tenant on a 15-year lease. Real estate development company Dexus will be the majority owner under a deal struck with Atlassian in 2022. Dexus said in February that about $1.2 billion of the $1.5 billion capital cost was still to be spent.

Perth has just had its driest six months on record, while Western Australia sweltered through its hottest summer on record. Those records are remarkable in their own right. But these records are having real consequences. Source: The Conversation Unlike us, trees and shrubs can’t escape the heat and aridity. While we turn up the air conditioning, they bear the full brunt of the changing climate. Our previous research has shown plants are more vulnerable to heatwaves than we had thought. Beginning in February 2024, large areas of vegetation started to turn brown and die off. With no real relief in sight, we unfortunately expect this mass plant death event to intensify and expand. Just like a coral bleaching event, WA’s plants are responding to the cumulative stress of the unusually long, hot and dry summer. And just like bleaching, global heating is likely to cause more regular mass plant deaths. The last time this happened in 2010-11, almost 20% of trees and shrubs in affected areas died. This is in line with climate change models, which pinpoint south-western Australia as a warming and drying hotspot. We have received reports from community members, colleagues, and authorities of dead and dying shrubs and trees spanning approximately 1,000 km from the Zuytdorp Cliffs near Shark Bay down to Albany on the southern coast. In areas along the west coast where it was hottest, dead or dying patches are larger while further south in the forests, the damage is so far limited to pockets of dead trees and shrinking tree canopies. At present, the die-off seems to have affected plants on and around shallow soils, including trees near granite outcrops and coastal heath. While February heatwaves directly killed some plants, it is likely the long, dry period finished the job. Despite some patchy rain last week, no substantial rain is forecast until May. It’s likely more areas will be hit, including our iconic wet forests in the south. Perth once again smashed temperature records this summer with a record thirteen days over 40° in 2024 to date. Even in April, we had a 37° day. This comes off the back of last year’s spring heatwaves, which broke monthly maximum and minimum temperature records in both September and November. While much of Australia’s east coast had more than enough rain, the west largely missed out. Rainfall has been below or very much below average over the past year, with the biggest rainfall deficits seen from Shark Bay’s Gascoyne region right down to the southwest corner at Cape Leeuwin. The summer’s heatwaves came from baking desert air, as high-pressure systems directed hot dry easterly winds from Australia’s arid interior over the region, just as we saw during the hot summer of 2021-2022, Long hot and dry periods are expected to become more common as a result of our warming climate. Declining rainfall will hit the historically wetter southwest hardest. This pocket of Australia is unique, cut off from the rest of the continent by desert. Here and only here live honey possums and numbats, towering karri and jarrah trees and red flowering gums. But it’s the southwest which has lost most rainfall so far, with annual levels already 20% lower than 50 years ago. Over the summer of 2010-2011, we saw a similar event sweep south-western Australia. It came about when a winter drought gave way to widespread heatwaves over summer. The result: die-off of forests and vegetation throughout the southwest. On land, the effects extended over a smaller area than we are seeing now. How bad was it? Pretty bad. Averaging across the region’s affected areas, 19% of trees and shrubs died, while the forests of the south-west lost approximately 16,000 hectares of canopy, about 1.5% of the forest. When forests die, the effects ripple through the ecosystem. The endangered Carnaby’s black cockatoo population crashed, declining by 60%, while the jarrah forest east of Perth was so hard hit it was categorised at “risk of collapse” by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This time, the summer has been longer and hotter, with impacts on plants more widespread. Climate change is steadily warming the world. Last year was the hottest on record, with temperatures shooting past predictions. Our trees and shrubs will keep browning off and dying until we get substantial rain. That means there’s no way to tell when our extraordinary range of forest and shrubland species will have the opportunity to recover. The longer-term trend is not good. As with coral bleaching, the situation will worsen until we reverse climate change. Large-scale plant die-offs like this will become more likely. What we do need are eyes on the ground to track what’s happening across this enormous state. Our ability to understand, model and respond is hampered by a lack of field data.

Scion’s New Zealand ForestSAT conference has opened for abstracts, the conference to be held from 9-13 September and will concentrate on demonstrating new tools and technologies that move science forward. Source: Timberbiz When submitting your abstract, you will be asked to select the main area that your abstract aligns with from the following list of Special Session and General Session topics. If your abstract fits across multiple topics, you can identify any relevant alternatives from the list as well. If you abstract does not align with any of the listed Special and General Session topics please select ‘Other’. General Session topics: Automation of data processing using cloud processing Citizen and community science to support forest monitoring Detection of drought and water stress Forest and vegetation spectroscopy Forest big data, deep learning Forest health Forest management and policy Forest monitoring Forest resilience monitoring Global Forest Observation Monitoring forest degradation and mortality Monitoring of protected forests, biodiversity and forest services Multi-source RS data integration / Fusion Precision forestry Scaling up LiDAR assessments of forest structure Synthetic forests Terrestrial laser scanning Tree species Other After completing the abstract submission process, you will receive an email confirming your submission. The closing date for submissions is 20 April 2024 you can submit here If you have any questions, please contact forestsat2024@theconferencecompany.com  

Almost 2.5-million hardwood and softwood seedlings are being dispatched from Forestry Corporation’s Grafton Nursery to be replanted in state forests across New South Wales. Source: Timberbiz The Grafton Nursery grows a mix of eucalyptus and pine seedlings, which are replanted in state forest timber plantations that have previously been harvested for renewable timber products. “These seedlings will be planted and grown for around 30 years to supply renewable timber for the next generation’s homes and infrastructure,” Forestry Corporation’s District Manager for Grafton Lyndon Orpwood said. “After timber harvest operations, state forests in New South Wales are regrown or replanted to continue the forest cycle into the future,” Mr Orpwood said. “Timber is the ultimate renewable resource and is crucial to the Australian construction industry. “Almost 100 million seedings have been raised at the Grafton nursery over the past two decades, ultimately helping to build people’s homes and to replenish vital public infrastructure including power poles, marine piers, bridges and platforms,” he said. Forestry Corporation’s pine and native hardwood seedling nursery at Grafton employs a permanent workforce of 13 staff, who are assisted with the annual dispatch by a seasonal workforce. When in full production, the Grafton Nursery produces around 50,000 seedlings a day with all stock grown from seed. The eucalypt and pine seedlings are being dispatched from the Grafton nursery across the state for replanting schedules in plantation forests. For plantation forests in southern NSW, Forestry Corporation produces seedlings at its Tumut Nursery. Since it opened in 1997, the southern NSW nursery has produced more than 176 million cold climate seedlings.

Foresta has secured a critical 10-year wood supply agreement to underpin production from its planned low emissions torrefied wood pellet manufacturing plant at Kawerau, New Zealand. Source: Timberbiz New Zealand’s largest forestry services company, PF Olsen, has agreed to supply 150,000 tonnes of logs, stumps and slash sourced from sustainably managed, Forest Stewardship Council accredited forests. “This is another significant step forward for our manufacturing plant with the supply representing around 61% of the total quantity of raw feedstock required for Stage 1AA and 1A of the plant,” said Foresta Managing Director Ray Mountfort. The plant will produce torrefied black wood pellets which are a seamless drop-in replacement for coal as a fuel source in boilers without any loss of energy intensity while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. A recent Genesis trial at Huntly power station using similar pellets reduced emissions by at least 90%. Foresta plans to invest some $300 million building the plant which at full production will employ more than 100 workers.PF Olsen is responsible for planting around 30% of all new forestry in New Zealand as well as managing over 160,000 ha in New Zealand. “We’re excited to be partnering with such a respected and significant player in the New Zealand forestry industry. “The supply agreement represents another piece in the jigsaw which means, pending funding, we can proceed with confidence with our plans to develop our manufacturing plant and begin construction later this year.” Foresta last week announced the signing of a 30-year lease (with a 20 year right of renewal) on a 9.6 ha property in Kawerau with Putauaki Trust. Foresta has also secured an off-take agreement with South Island energy distribution company Tailored Energy & Resources Ltd to supply 65,000 tonnes of pellets annually to its industrial customers and a harvesting contract with Silvertree Biomass Solutions. The planned plant will also produce natural pine-based chemicals (rosins and terpenes) from pine trees which can replace petroleum sourced chemicals. These are used in everyday items including flavours, fragrances, chewing gum, paint, ink and tyres.

A Latrobe Valley consultant has strongly criticised the lack of bushfire expertise on the state government panel investigating the future use of Victoria’s native forest estate. Source: LaTrobe Valley Express The government has established the Great Outdoors Taskforce to conduct the investigation of the state’s public land estate, which now includes forest previously used for timber harvesting. The taskforce will be chaired by a former Victorian Minister for Environment, Lisa Neville. Members of the taskforce include: Karen Cain, chair of the Eminent Panel for Community Engagement and a former chair of the Latrobe Valley Authority; Mellissa Wood, chair of the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council and member of the Eminent Panel for Community Engagement; Graham Dear, board chair of the Victorian Fisheries Authority, and; Terry Robinson, CEO of Destination Gippsland.   John Cameron, a forest and business consultant with decades of experience, said wildfire was the single most important threat to the state’s 7.5 million hectares of native forest. “There is a clear need for a fire behaviour expert to be on the Great Outdoors Taskforce,” he said. Mr Cameron said at least one of several highly qualified bushfire experts should have been chosen, including a representative from Forestry Australia, the professional body that represents forest scientists, bush practitioners and experts in forest management. The work of the late Professor Kevin Tolhurst, who died suddenly last October, should be included in the investigation. “Kevin was an expert in wildfire behaviour, prescribed burning techniques and guidelines, ecological management of landscapes, fire risk management and ecological impacts of fire,” Mr Cameron said. “Victorian bushfire policy is hopelessly misguided, and based on shonky science steeped in ideology. Against misguided political, ideological and bureaucratic impediments, Kevin continued to deliver real science and practical management options.” Mr Cameron wrote a tribute to Dr Tolhurst last year with Traralgon resident and former CSIRO bushfire expert, David Packham. “Kevin’s last message to a gathering at Mallacoota on 5 October was, that if appropriate fuel reduction had been applied prior to the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfire, Mallacoota would not have burned,” they wrote. Mr Cameron said Victoria’s black summer bushfires burnt 1.8 million ha, five lives were lost and millions of native fauna were killed. Within the region of the fire, only 0.6 per cent of the forest was fuel reduced in the four previous years, well below the five per cent recommended by the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission, he said. Mr Cameron also said there was a glaring falsehood in the government’s announcement of the task force, which stated that 1.8 million ha’s of native forest had been allocated to the native forest industry. When harvesting ended this year, the area of the Victorian forest available for timber harvesting was only about 4-6 per cent of the 7.5 million hectares of native forest. “This was only about 375,000 ha, or 0.4mill ha. The government is misleading the public again and again on the facts,” he said. The Minister for Environment, Steve Dimopoulos, said the taskforce would also include Traditional Owner representation. Their involvement will be flexible to allow for each Traditional Owner group to determine its involvement. The taskforce will consult with communities and stakeholders to ensure all options for future uses and care of the forest are heard and explored. It will consider opportunities to protect the environment and support recreational, social and commercial opportunities in their recommendations to government. This includes investigating which areas of the estate present opportunities for recreation and tourism, such as camping, hunting, hiking, trail-bike riding and four-wheel driving. The taskforce will also explore which areas need to be protected to safeguard threatened species, areas that qualify for protection as National Parks and opportunities for Traditional Owner management. The panel will prioritise areas of state forest where some decisions can be made now and advise on where more engagement is required. The work will be undertaken over the next 12 months and consultation details will be released in the coming weeks. Mr Dimopoulos said the end of native timber harvesting was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to design new ways of caring for the state’s forests while giving Victorians more opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors. “This taskforce will play a critical role listening to Victorians about how best to manage our forests. Each member brings specialised knowledge to the panel ensuring thorough consideration of all options during consultation,” he said. For more information visit, www.deeca.vic.gov.au/futureforests/immediate-protection-areas/future-forests

Last week Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff signed an agreement with three Jacqui Lambie Network MPs, Miriam Beswick (Braddon), Andrew Jenner (Lyons), and Rebekah Pentland (Bass) which indicates that there will be stability for the timber industry. Source: Timberbiz However, support is not guaranteed as the three members have a clause in the agreement that allows them to give 24 hours’ notice if they intend to vote against the government. A discussion paper suggests that they do not agree with expanding native forest logging, but they do support more plantation timber. The JLN MPs said they would provide certainty to the Liberals by voting against all censure and no confidence motions except in cases of malfeasance or corruption and agreed to pass the government’s budget and money bills unamended. The three new MPs are not career politicians and now find themselves holding the balance of power in a hung parliament. The agreement will be reviewed after 12 months. The Rockliff Liberal Cabinet includes: Jeremy Rockliff: Premier, Tourism and Hospitality, Trade and Major Investment Eric Abetz: Business, Industry and Resources, Transport, Leader of the House Nick Duigan: Energy and Renewables, Parks and Environment Jane Howlett: Primary Industries and Water, Racing Eric Abetz served as the Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation in the Howard Government between 2006 and 2007 and has been named Industry and Resources Minister overseeing Tasmanian forestry. As TFPA Chief Executive Officer Nick Steel pointed out Mr Abetz spent many years in the Federal Parliament representing Tasmania’s forestry industry on the national stage. He has shown he’s a strong supporter of the important and sustainable work of the industry and the 5,500 Tasmanians employed by it. The organisational structure of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania includes: Secretary Jason Jacobi Primary industries and Water Deirdre Wilson Agriculture, Forestry & Water Catherine Murdoch Forest Policy Tom Byrne The organisation structure diagram can be downloaded here.