2021, Volume 29, Paper 1
ISSN: 1883-5675

Options to Improve the New Zealand Engineered Wood Value Chain: Evidence from a Systematic Literature Review

Stephen Cantwell and Garry Griffith
Postgraduate student and Associate Professor, School of Agriculture and Food, University of Melbourne

Abstract

Improving the New Zealand engineered wood value chain would result in major social, environmental, and economic benefits to the nation. Engineered wood products have environmental and building performance benefits over conventional steel and concrete. The aim of this study was to explore potential interventions to the New Zealand engineered wood value chain and to suggest options in order to improve its performance. To achieve this, a systematic literature review was conducted. This resulted in 84 retained studies, which were divided into three broad themes: product demand; chain fragmentation; and cost of production. The analysis of these themes was used to produce five suggestions to improve the performance of the value chain: increased training and education with engineered wood products; Government funding of engineered wood products in public infrastructure; investment into log allocation technology and robotics; a clear vision of the future of gene editing; and the inclusion of engineered wood products in the Emissions Trading Scheme. These options would all contribute to the improvement of the performance of the engineered wood value chain.

Dowload full document here