These items have all been derived from wood – World Economic Forum

Take a look around you. Chances are you see items made from wood. Your desk, parts of the building youre in, maybe a fruit bowl. Wood is so commonplace we take it for granted. But it also has some surprising uses and crops up in everyday items you might not know contained wood products. Here are some examples.

The typical supercar buyer might have titanium, carbon fibre and kevlar on the checklist. Wood? Not likely, unless it forms the expensive trim around the dashboard.

The Nano Cellulose Vehicle is a prototype supercar made from wood products.

Image: Japanese Ministry of Environment

But now theres a supercar made from cellulose nanofiber a wood-derived material that is stronger than steel. It was commissioned by the Japanese government as part of a project to explore cutting emissions in car manufacturing. It weighs 50% less than traditional supercars.

While modern-day chewing gum relies on synthetic sap substitutes, it was traditionally made from chicle a milky latex from the sapodilla tree. Ancient civilizations such as the Aztecs enjoyed chewing it.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers used xylem tissue from sapwood to create filters that can purify water. Prototypes tested in India showed that xylem filters could potentially be used to filter bacteria and viruses from contaminated drinking water.

The carnauba wax found in many car wax brands comes from the leaves of the Copernicia prunifera, a palm tree that grows exclusively in Brazil. Its harvested by drying and beating the leaves.

Timber skyscrapers can be built faster, more cheaply and with less of an environmental impact than traditional concrete and steel structures.

The Brock Commons Tower in Vancouver has a smaller carbon footprint than a comparable traditional building

Image: University of British Columbia

Construction of Vancouvers 18-story Brock Commons tower offset an estimated 2,432 tonnes of carbon. It houses students in what is currently the tallest timber building in the world.

Environmentally friendly ink based on cellulose nanocrystals has been created by scientists at Swiss materials science lab Empa. The technology could be used for the 3D printing of implants and other biomedical applications, they say.

Willow bark has been used in traditional medicine to relieve pain and treat fevers for thousands of years. But it wasnt until the 1800s that the active ingredient salicin was discovered, which would later form the basis of aspirin.

Eco-friendly domestic sponges are often made from wood-derived cellulose. However, scientists have also used balsa wood to create an oil-absorbing sponge that absorbs up to 41 times its weight. It could prove invaluable in cleaning up oil spills.

Why the world needs to protect trees

Wood will be a key material in creating a circular bioeconomy a conceptual framework that relies on natural capital to manage food, land and industrial systems. The aim is to achieve sustainable wellbeing in harmony with nature.

The World Economic Forum has created a series of initiatives to promote circularity.

1. Scale360 Playbook was designed to build lasting ecosystems for the circular economy and help solutions scale.

Scale360 Playbook Journey

Image: Scale360 Playbook

Its unique hub-based approach - launched this September - is designed to prioritize circular innovation while fostering communities that allow innovators from around the world to share ideas and solutions. Emerging innovators from around the world can connect and work together ideas and solutions through the UpLink, the Forum's open innovation platform.

Discover how the Scale360 Playbook can drive circular innovation in your community.

2. A new Circular Cars Initiative (CCI) embodies an ambition for a more circular automotive industry. It represents a coalition of more than 60 automakers, suppliers, research institutions, NGOs and international organizations committed to realizing this near-term ambition.

CCI has recently released a new series of circularity roadmaps, developed in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), McKinsey & Co. and Accenture Strategy. These reports explain the specifics of this new circular transition.

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3. The World Economic Forums Accelerating Digital Traceability for Sustainable Production initiative brings together manufacturers, suppliers, consumers and regulators to jointly establish solutions and provide a supporting ecosystem to increase supply chain visibility and accelerate sustainability and circularity across manufacturing and production sectors.

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However, the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that, despite a slowing of the rate of deforestation in the last decade, some 10 million hectares of forest cover is still lost each year through conversion to agriculture and other land uses.

Responsible forestry and land management will be vital in managing this invaluable, renewable resource.

And while wooden, eco-friendly supercars are likely to remain a novelty, they show the potential for creating new products from ancient materials that could lead us into a more sustainable future.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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These items have all been derived from wood - World Economic Forum