CO₂For-IT

Forest Data Space for a carbon-conscious forestry and timber industry

© Projekt CO2For-IT

The challenges of climate change impact all areas of the economy. The forestry and timber industry is also striving for sustainability and climate resilience in wood value creation. This approach takes into account the sustainability of both the forest as a production site and the entire wood value chain.

The CO2For-IT project’s chief objective is to advance the decentralised networking approaches of Forest and Wood 4.0 and transform them into a national, open and interoperable ecosystem with the help of the GAIA-X principles. Another aim is to create a standardised platform for a Forest Data Space within the scope of the project. This data space is designed to allow forestry stakeholders to use digital technologies along the entire value chain and optimise processes and networks from a sustainability standpoint. The project thus contributes to the ecological transformation of the economy.

Various solutions for current challenges in forestry are being developed in the Forest Data Space. Digital twins – virtual representations of objects or systems from the real world – are to be used to make specific statements about the carbon footprint of the timber harvesting chain and logistics. It is anticipated that tracking the flow of wood with a focus on the respective carbon footprint will improve the use of certified wood. The project is also investigating approaches to optimising wood logistics by comprehensively evaluating process and pathway data. The development of green digital twins and the integration of sensor-based environmental data, remote sensing data and forest inventory data will also make it possible to monitor and manage forests sustainably in the future. The project team hopes these efforts will allow it to make more accurate statements about the biodiversity of forest inventories.

The research project also focuses on social aspects. By analysing the large amount of available data, the primary objective is to examine psychological stress levels experienced during forestry labour. Analysing the available data will make it possible to take appropriate measures to optimise working conditions and further strengthen the social aspects of forestry. This is why the CO2For-IT project is pursuing a comprehensive approach to promote a carbon-conscious forestry and timber industry.

© Projekt CO2For-IT

CO2For-IT is developing two specific use cases for the advancement of a sustainable forestry and timber industry through close collaboration between the industry and the scientific community

Consortium:

• Materna Information & Communication SE
• RIF Institute for Research and Transfer e. V.
• RWTH Aachen
• Rhenus Forest Logistics GmbH & Co. KG
• Hohenloher Spezial-Maschinenbau GmbH (HSM)
• Forestry Research and Competence Centre (FFK) Gotha (ThüringenForst – AöR)
• Kuratorium für Waldarbeit und Forsttechnik e. V. (KWF)