The proportion of timber construction in Germany has developed positively since 2021, rising to over 20 per cent for the first time in both the residential and non-residential sectors. This is according to the recently published ‘Key Figures Report 2022/2023’ of the Charter for Wood 2.0. Another striking figure from the report: the felling of calamity wood fell by 18 percentage points compared to 2021, from 74 to 57 per cent.

The timber construction rate in the residential sector increased from 18.6 to 20.4 per cent compared to the 2021 key figures report, while in the non-residential sector it rose from 19.6 to 20.8 per cent. Wood is used particularly frequently in the construction of agricultural buildings, followed by hotels and restaurants as well as single-family homes.

Furthermore, the figures from the latest key figures report are rather cautious; the climate crisis and the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic continue to pose challenges for the forestry and wood cluster.

‘The key figures reflect current developments. And they once again underline the urgent need for the Charter process: the socio-ecological transformation can only be tackled in a meaningful way if all stakeholders pull together,’ explains Dr Jan Lüdtke, coordinator for the Charter for Wood 2.0 at the Thünen Institute of Wood Research.

The Charter for Wood 2.0 is a dialogue process in which experts from science, business and public administration join forces to tackle the central challenges facing the forestry and wood cluster: Climate protection, value creation, resource efficiency.

The progress of the cluster towards these core objectives and other important objectives for each of six specific fields of action is evaluated in the report using 15 key figures in order to be able to continuously adapt the need for action in the Charter dialogue process.

Source:  Thuenen.de