Written by: Laura Mira, CREA

BBioNets contributes to Europe’s Forest Future: Highlights from European Forest Innovation Workshops

6th edition of the European Forest Innovation Workshop

On 11–12 February 2025, the 6th edition of the European Forest Innovation Workshop was hosted in Brussels, an event that underscored the vital role of innovation in steering European forestry toward a more sustainable and resilient future.

Co-organised by the FOREST4EU Horizon Europe project, in collaboration with the European Forest Institute (EFI), the ERIAFF Network, the Tuscany Region, and several other key partners, the workshop convened over 210 participants, including 55 expert speakers, 13 EU-funded projects, and 14 EIP-AGRI Operational Groups (OGs).

The discussions of the workshop revolved around the urgent need to adopt innovative approaches to strengthen forest resilience, stimulate the bioeconomy, and harness digital technologies to improve forest governance and practices.

Within this context, Patrizia Borsotto from the Italian Research Centre for Agricultural Economics (CREA) represented BBioNets, outlining key outcomes related to OG activities and projects mapped by each partner in the forestry sector. In particular, she highlighted the forestry-related bio-based technology initiatives during the session titled “Valorizing Non-Wood Forest Products for Healthy Consumption Patterns”. The session also featured other OG experiences from across Europe, including the ResinLAB project (Spain) and Platisor (Portugal).

Figure 1: Patrizia Borsotto presenting BBioNets at the Forest Innovation Workshop.

EU CAP Network workshop ‘Circular bioeconomy – valorisation of forest by-products’

Moreover, Francesco Basset, also from CREA, took part in another event – the EU CAP Network workshop titled ‘Circular Bioeconomy – Valorisation of Forest By-products’, held on 24–25 March 2025 in Kouvola, Finland. On this occasion, he represented BBioNets and its ongoing activities.

The workshop brought together 80 participants from 23 EU Member States, including forest owners, researchers, advisors, and industry representatives. Discussions focused on innovative ways to use forestry by-products—such as logging residues, sawmill waste, and wood processing leftovers—to support the circular bioeconomy, showcasing a range of Bio-Based Technologies (BBTs) from across Europe.

Figure 2: Francesco Basset at the EU CAP Network workshop.

Overall, these workshops served as important opportunities for dialogue and knowledge exchange on the innovative activities currently being developed across Europe in the forestry sector.