The Budget, The Bio-age, And Job Benefits In The Forest Sector

As budget day nears, the question of the role of government in the economy becomes top of mind. There’s little doubt that our prosperity is increasingly driven by the resource economy. But our economic ambitions as a nation will not be realized by simply extracting and exporting resources.  Value added products, technical brilliance and world leading environmental performance are the new yardsticks to measure success. And the budget should reflect government’s role in accelerating this transformation.

For the forestry industry, a key part of this is the shift to the bio-economy. Products such as food additives, bulletproof vests and airplane wings may not come to mind when you think of a tree. Yet they’re some of the existing and future products that could help the Canadian forest products industry  be an innovative contributor to the new bio-age. Just as the industrial age gave way to the information age, the bio-age is being heralded as the next revolution to transform the globe. And the country’s forest products sector is poised to embrace this potential by producing traditional lumber, pulp and paper as well as leading-edge bio-products from the same harvested trees. 

The blueprint for this exciting future is outlined in a landmark study called the Bio-pathways Project. The Forest Products Association of Canada recently teamed up with FPInnovations, six provincial governments and scores of economic and scientific experts to consider the economic, social and environmental benefits of integrating bio-energy, bio-chemicals and bio-materials within the traditional forest products industry.  The study identified a potential global market for such products of $200 billion by 2015. This is definitely where the action is!

The possibilities are endless: textiles from wood fibres; bio-plastics derived from biomass; rubber for tires made from lignin; smart paper and packaging; new pharmaceuticals and more. The industry is already well on its way to using biomass or the waste stream from its operations to produce power and become more energy self-sufficient. That’s one reason why this shift will further enhance the world-class environmental credentials of the Canadian forest products industry. Producing bio-energy, bio-chemicals and bio-materials from our vast forests — which are renewable and part of nature’s cycle —will mean replacing many products now made from fossil fuels. 

Grasping this bio-potential could also help revive struggling pulp and paper mills in such provinces as Quebec.  The Bio-pathways Project shows adding on these innovative products at existing mills would boost income and increase the job potential by up to five times that of stand-alone bio-energy plants.

The Canadian forest sector is ready and willing to grasp a central role in this transformation but industry can’t deliver on the promise alone. Canada’s competitors are already moving quickly to establish themselves as leaders in this area thanks to significant funding from their governments. Canada, with its vast forest resource, must not be left behind.   The government of Canada has already invested in the transformation of the forest products industry. But more must be done in the area of research and development.  Investors should consider the vast potential for higher returns on investment from the sector. And forest products companies must seek out new partnerships in the oil and gas, chemical, auto, aerospace and agricultural sectors to help bring bio-technologies to market.

With the right policy frame, the desire to foster innovation and strategic investments, the Canadian forest products industry can be a world-leading trailblazer in the emerging bio-age ―something that will bolster rural communities, strengthen the economy and advance Canada’s environmental and innovation agendas.