Australia is home to the world’s seventh-largest forest area – about 3.23% of global forests – and thanks to world-class research and development, it now has the potential to use forest and material science to manufacture its own products. That is according to Professor John Warner, co-founder of Green Chemistry, a field that focuses on reducing or eliminating hazardous materials at the design stage of a materials process, who addressed attendees at Australia’s Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) workshop.
Professor Warner, who has more than 360 patents, has worked with more than 40 multinationals in the field of material science and was in 2014 awarded the Perkin Medal, widely acknowledged as the highest honor in American industrial chemistry, said trees are “the textbook of the future,” with massive potential to not only create the next generation of building products but also in bio-packaging, biochar, and pyrolysis, and of course green chemistry.
“Of the patents, I would say about 35% are connected to forests and forest products,” Warner said, who is leading a global movement in green chemistry. “That includes Monash University, which is the first university in the Southern Hemisphere to embrace green chemistry.”
It comes as Wood Central last month reported that Australia now has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take forest science beyond the lab and into everyday products. That is according to Dr Joseph Lawrence, executive director of AFWI, who told Forestry Australia’s national conference that the $26 billion industry has a real opportunity to “spin what we do into advanced manufacturing. Think of the National Reconstruction Fund, there is $15 billion sitting there, which is not aimed at forestry at the moment, but we can change that.”
Dr Lawrence, who leads the Commonwealth‑supported AFWI, a $200m research institute once co‑matched by industry and partners, chaired a cross‑sector panel exploring where forestry is heading over the next decade. “Our industry is operating in a fast‑changing environment. Emerging technologies, shifting markets, climate impacts, and the increasing importance of social licence all play a role in shaping what’s next,” he said. “Transformation doesn’t come easily. It takes long‑term thinking, collaboration across sectors and supply chains, and a willingness to explore new approaches.”
It comes days after Julie Collins, Australia’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries minister, announced the latest round of projects funded through AFWI. Announced before 400 forestry professionals, scientists, land managers, and policymakers, Collins said projects “range from developing a national biosecurity program for giant pine scale, to an indigenous led cultural timber recovery project in the Northern Rivers, through to an advanced manufacturing precinct strategy to accelerate prefabricated timber housing.”
“Together (the new projects) represent an investment of $30 million, with more than $10 million from AFWI and over $20 million contributed by industry and partners,” Minister Collins said. “Collectively, this research is strengthening Australia’s forestry future – growing the next generation of researchers whilst delivering innovative solutions to boost productivity, sustainability and climate resilience across the sector.”
