In a world that is increasingly attentive to the environment and quality of life, FederlegnoArredo has chosen to focus on living wellbeing, bringing together the sector’s strengths and highlighting how wood and high-quality products can improve our homes, making them more sustainable and comfortable.
This was the central theme of the conference “Sustainability; comfort and living wellbeing”, organised on Friday 5 July at the NH Venezia Laguna Palace in Mestre by the associations that within the Federation represent the wood, panel, packaging and interior finishing sectors such as doors, windows and wood flooring. In fact, wood represents not only an ecological choice with a low environmental impact, but an important step towards improving the well-being and quality of life in our homes and communities.
Sustainable and natural materials bring long-term well-being, understood in its broadest sense: energetic, acoustic, thermal and environmental. For example, the use of low-emission materials is crucial for the quality of the air we breathe, reducing fatigue and respiratory problems such as allergies and asthma. Natural lighting, provided by well-designed windows, is essential for regulating circadian rhythm, helping to improve mood and sleep quality. Adequate thermal and acoustic comfort also helps reduce stress and the onset of autoimmune diseases, promoting a peaceful and comfortable home environment.
The conference was held in the context of the annual meetings of the timber associations, where the European Deforestation-free Products Regulation (EUDR) was widely discussed. This regulation is a cause for concern for companies throughout the supply chain because of the heavy burdens placed on companies, with the risk of penalising the entire production system. FederlegnoArredo’s efforts are focused on ensuring that all necessary tools are made available to operators and traders in order to ensure a smooth implementation of the EUDR and avoid market distortions.
The event in Mestre offered an opportunity for the various players in the sector to exchange views and was an opportunity for FederlegnoArredo to illustrate its activities on topics of interest to the supply chain, from Ecodesign to extended producer responsibility, from the scarcity of wood raw material, if the management of the forestry heritage is not acted upon quickly, to the valorisation of Made in Italy products with a view to a short supply chain, focusing on sector certifications, which are fundamental for assessing environmental impact and guaranteeing high quality standards.
The topic was addressed by Franco Bulian, director of Catas, who explained how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA: a methodology to quantify emissions, resources consumed and the impact of products on the environment and health) for wood-furniture products can be a tool for improving company performance and for complying with the recently approved Ecodesign regulation (ESPR). While Günther Gantioler, director of TBZ, had the task of presenting the “Active House” protocol for assessing living comfort and some best practices for improving the quality of buildings, including at the design level.
THE SECTOR’S DATA
There are almost 30,200 Italian companies operating in the wood-furniture macro-system, which closes 2023 with a production turnover of 21.6 billion euro. The drop is -10.5 per cent compared to the previous year, according to the final figures of the FederlegnoArredo Study Centre, with different variations in the various sectors: packaging, primary processing and panels show a more consistent negative trend.
Determining the overall figure is the production trend for the domestic market, which accounts for 76 per cent of the total and is down 11.5 per cent. As far as sentiment is concerned, the forecast indicated in the first quarter by a representative sample of companies (Monitor Centro Studi FederlegnoArredo) remains of a modest downturn for Italy (-1.9 per cent), exports stable (plus 0.6 per cent).
VENETO KEY REGION FOR THE SUPPLY CHAIN
Veneto ranks second among the regions for the Wood-Furniture Sector, both in terms of turnover equal to 8.2 billion Euro, of which 6 for furniture and 2.2 for wood, and in terms of number of companies (6,400) and employees (45,000). The trade balance is EUR 2.3 billion. As far as exports of the L-A chain are concerned, Veneto is at 3.9 billion euro (23% of national exports), of which 3.5 billion for furniture and just under 418 million euro for wood.
