Forest And Wood Industries Take To The Air

1 February 2008

Forest And Wood Industries Take To The Air

The Forest and Wood Processing industries are taking their environmental message to the public next week in a first ever multi-million dollar advertising campaign.

The campaign, under the banner of a generic industry brand “NZ Wood”, places forests and wood at the front line of the fight against climate change.

“Wood is the most renewable raw material in the world, the one raw material we can use without fear of it running out. Trees are the lungs of the world sucking up CO2 and expelling oxygen. We need them like we have never needed them before,” says Geoff Henley, Programme Manager of NZ Wood.

“Contrary to the popular belief that all trees should be conserved, NZ Wood supports cutting plantation forests and using the wood, which in turn encourages further planting and sucks up more CO2. In addition, the use of wood in buildings stores CO2 away from the atmosphere, often for centuries.

“NZ Wood wants its message to reach all New Zealanders, because if they use wood they are not only using a great product, they are helping save the planet,” says Henley.

“Wood has an iconic link to our heritage and identity as New Zealanders. We built our country on wood – houses, farm buildings and fences, and our places of work. Now in the 21st century wood has a new significance. It is the one raw material that can make a positive difference to the greatest threat now facing us – climate change,” he adds.

The TV commercials are a captivating, expansive look at forests and wood – taking the viewer on a journey from our reliance on diminishing resources, such as fossil fuels, to the use of wood in all parts of our lives, and finishing with a breathtaking view of the largest manmade forest in the world – the Kaingaroa plantation forest in the Central North Island.

The commercials mark the start of a public campaign by the forestry and wood processing industries to draw attention to the excellent environmental credentials of forests and wood.

“Wood is such a hero product and now more than ever we need to look at wood through fresh eyes, as the truly life enhancing material that it is,” says Henley.

The forestry and wood processing industries have come together on a common platform under the NZ Wood programme, which is driven by industry and co-funded by industry and government.

NZ Wood is supported by the New Zealand Forest Owner’s Association, the Wood Processors Association, the Pine Manufacturer’s Association, the Timber Design Society, the Douglas-fir Association and the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association.

ENDS

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