ABOUT THE INDUSTRY

What We Contribute

Sector’s Contributions to Scotland’s Economy

A short video, prepared in September 2024, highlights how the Scottish forestry and wood-based industries contribute to Scotland’s economy and climate change mitigation – WATCH HERE.

The forest sector’s contributions to the Scottish economy in 2022, excluding the contributions of companies that reuse and recycled wood, are shown in the chart to the right.

Scotland also imports a significant quantity of wood and wood products because the wood processing industry based on Scotland’s woods and forests cannot meet all Scotland’s needs.  Many of these imported products will be subject to further processing in Scotland and will therefore also be making a significant contribution to Scotland’s economy.

Our Contributions to Meeting Scotland’s Climate Change Targets

The whole sector is also helping Scotland reach its net zero carbon target by 2045 in the following ways:

  • Storing carbon as trees grow in Scotland’s existing woods and forests and expanding these opportunities by increasing the existing area of woods and forests through creating new productive woodlands
  • Harvesting Scotland’s trees and converting them into products used in Scotland that will continue to store carbon throughout their life
  • Offering a wide range of opportunities for replacing, energy intensive products, such as cement, blocks, bricks and steel with wood and wood products that are storing carbon taken and stored from the atmosphere.

Our Contributions to Scotland’s Circular Economy

Many wood and wood products are re-used or recycled and at the end of their life are used to generate energy.  For example, wooden pallets can be re-used and repaired many times before they are converted into particle board or are used as a fuel in a biomass energy generating plants.  Significant quantities of paper and cardboard are recycled into new products that are used again.  This helps to maximises the efficient use of Scotland’s existing wood fibre resources.

The sector is continuing to identify how these contributions can be increased through, for example, designing new houses and buildings with the intention of recycling all the wood and wood products used in them at the end of their life.

Our Contributions to Recreation & Tourism

Scotland’s woods and forests are providing significant opportunities for recreational activities, such as walking, mountain biking, running, paintballing, and flying fox rides.  While the sector is receiving some financial benefits from these activities, the majority of the benefits flow into other businesses such as B&Bs, hotels and cafes and this is helping to strengthen Scotland’s rural economy.