Finland’s sawmill industry wants the country’s next government to make wood construction a pillar of industrial policy, arguing that Finland is failing to capture enough value from its own timber. That is according to the Finnish Sawmill Industry Association, which made the case in a submission to a government consultation shaping the coming parliamentary term, and which says wood use in building has fallen sharply over the past 20 years.
The association represents around 30 family-owned mills that account for roughly half of the national sawn timber output. It wants the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment to take charge of a national wood-construction programme and to appoint a high-level steering group spanning several government arms.
It argues that the growth of the wood-construction market should be treated as part of Finland’s competitiveness and industrial policy, not solely as part of its climate effort, and that wood building is one concrete way to tie emissions targets to growth, investment and regional vitality. The submission says wood construction has been promoted across successive government programmes and strategies, yet the practical measures and their impact have stayed fragmented.
Finland already has a strong international profile in wood construction, with showcase developments such as Helsinki’s Wood City quarter drawing global attention, yet the association says the wider market is growing too slowly to meet national climate, growth and export goals. The submission repeatedly returns to the conditions for investment, arguing that the sector will commit capital and develop higher-value wood products only where the policy environment is stable and predictable.
“A long-term, predictable operating environment is a precondition for investment,” the association said.
Among the association’s central proposals is the introduction of life-cycle carbon limit values for buildings, alongside construction guidance that accounts for climate impacts across a building’s full lifespan. It also wants the climate effects of material choices and material substitutions reflected in how building rules are applied.
Public procurement features heavily in the submission, with the association calling for more wood construction in publicly funded projects and for procurement to be used deliberately to develop the market. It also wants research, development and innovation funding steered towards wood-construction innovation and new building solutions.
On skills, the association is pressing for stronger wood-construction education at every level of the system and closer cooperation between universities, vocational schools and companies. It also wants assurance that skilled labour will be available as the market grows, warning that slow market development is itself holding back jobs and investment.
Finnish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah led a four-day trade mission to Rabat in March 2026, courting Morocco’s sawmill and bioeconomy sectors as the government looked to open new markets for Finnish wood. (Photo Credit: Yabiladi)
The submission comes as wood construction draws unusually close political attention in Helsinki, with Finance Minister Riikka Purra telling February’s Wood from Finland conference that policymakers should widen wood use rather than curb it. It follows a Finnish ministerial trade mission to Morocco targeting fresh sawmill markets, underlining a government keen to back the sector abroad even as domestic wood use in building slides.
“The task of decision-makers is to enable wood construction, not curb it,” Purra said.
