The 2nd Seminar of the Joint European Confederation of Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois)/ European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW)/ European Wood-based Panels Federation (EPF) European-funded project “Perspectives and challenges of the Woodworking Industries in Europe” took place on the 30 of November 2018 in Lisbon.
It was preceded, on the 29 of November 2018, by a training workshop and the official signature of the voluntary agreement between EPF and EFBWW on the European Action Guide on Formaldehyde. It sets a new level of safety in the workplace, estimated to be introduced up to five years ahead of any possible legislative requirement
The Seminar was organised around the theme of the European Woodworking Sector Attractiveness and provided a good insight on the strengths and challenges the sector’s image is facing today, as well as some concrete examples of the best practices and solutions that have been tested and/or implemented in Croatia, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom and Belgium.
A panel session took place in the afternoon, which allowed a productive exchange of views between the participants and some of the speakers.
The Project
Perspectives and Challenges of the Woodworking Industries in Europe, is a joint project between the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois), the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) and the European Panel Federation (EPF). The project focuses on challenges faced and solutions offered by the WI and will aim at developing common opinion and deriving recommendations to the companies and workers involved, so that a real practical on-the-ground effect of this project can be measured in five years’ time. The first part of the project will consider working conditions and formaldehyde. Results from the implementation of the REF-WOOD project will also be analysed during this first part of the project. The second part will be a follow-up of the implementation of the F-BI Strategy and will include topics such as sustainable availability of wood, R&D, innovation, education, work organisation, etc. It will focus in particular on the contribution that the woodworking industries can deliver to European Commission’s aim to re-industrialise Europe. It will also intend to improve the image of the WI and enhance its attractiveness for younger generations. Under the responsibility of a Steering Group, two milestones seminars and a final Conference will be organized, together with multiple additional dissemination activities, within a total 21 months’ time frame.
