As the custodian of 440,000 hectares of primarily-forested land, Coillte is both Ireland’s largest forest manager and largest provider of outdoor recreation. Also developing green energy projects, producing panel boards and delivering nature conservation projects of scale, Coillte is focused on harnessing the multiple benefits of its forests and land for climate, for nature, for wood and for people.
Coillte, Ireland’s semi-state forestry company, is responsible for managing seven per cent of Ireland’s land – some 440.000 hectares of forest (predominantly), wild bogs, mountains, rivers and beaches. Producing over 3 million cubic metres of sustainably grown Irish timber products every year, it is the nation’s largest forester and producer of certified wood – a natural, renewable and sustainable resource.
Coillte is also the largest provider of outdoor recreation space in Ireland. Furthermore, it enables wind energy on the estate, processes forestry by-products and undertakes nature rehabilitation projects of scale. Coillte is part of a wider forestry sector that together manages approximately eleven per cent of Ireland’s land, supports 12,000 jobs across rural Ireland and contributes €2.3bn per year to the economy.
Looking to the future, Coillte aims to: increase the amount of carbon stored in its forests (Forests For Climate); diversify its forests and increase biodiversity (Forests For Nature); produce a sustainable supply of timber and promote innovative wood products (Forests For Wood); and create world class visitor destinations and rural jobs (Forest For People).
While forestry (i.e. planting, growing, protecting, managing, harvesting and replanting forests) is Coillte’s core business, they are also the leading provider of outdoor recreation in Ireland with more than 3000 kilometres of trails, 260 recreation sites and twelve forest parks across the country. They also offer orienteering courses, aerial trails and tree-tops walks, set in some of the most stunning parts of the country. Most of these facilities are open to the public free of charge, although some forest parks have a car-parking fee, which funds maintaining picnic areas, trails and playgrounds.
In 2023, funding of €3 million was secured to develop more than 300 forest parks and upgrade outdoor amenities on Coillte-owned land. €1 million of this will be used to deliver 25 new outdoor projects, including walking trails, loops, boardwalks, eco-trails and carparks, while the remaining €2 million will be invested in improving and maintaining existing sites and to develop 280 recreational facilities on Coillte-owned lands across the country.
Coillte’s wood panels manufacturing business Medite Smartply uses wood grown in their forests and transforms it into innovative, sustainable and renewable wood panel products which are sold to 32 countries around the world.
These market-leading, environmentally-produced, sustainable timber construction panels are renowned for delivering the highest quality products, customer-led innovation and industry-leading customer service. Coillte’s manufacturing sites in Clonmel (Medite) and Waterford (Smartply) feature the latest production technology to deliver straighter, flatter and more consistent boards than ever before, in a range of sizes and thicknesses unparalleled within the industry.
Sustainability is at the heart of Coillte’s future ambitions. The semi-state forestry body aims to produce 25 million cubic metres of certified Irish timber, to support the construction of 300,000 homes by 2030. It also aims to promote the use and benefits of wood products to help increase the level of timber homes from 20% to 80% by 2050, and to continue developing innovative wood products to meet growing demand for sustainable materials to support the bioeconomy.
Imelda Hurley, CEO, Coillte, welcomed the establishment in 2023 of the Interdepartmental and Industry Timber in Construction Steering group – which has been set up to examine the regulatory challenges and changes to building standards needed to increase the use of timber in Modern Methods of Construction:
“This group will play a pivotal role in increasing the use of wood in construction. With a collaborative approach, a framework can be created to work through the current barriers, unlock regulatory constraints, support demonstrator buildings and develop the guidance and training materials which our architects and design specifiers need to move this critical agenda forward.
“It is abundantly clear that accelerating the use of wood in our built environment is critical to meeting Ireland’s climate targets. Modern methods of timber construction offer a valuable solution to several issues facing housing delivery in Ireland – increasing the speed of delivery, delivering more sustainable homes, and reducing the need for onsite labour, decarbonising our built environment, and supporting our country’s Net Zero ambitions.”
Celebrating 35 years in existence in 2024, Coillte promotes a ‘wood first’ policy to drive the use of wood as a natural, sustainable and low carbon alternative to other common building products through education, training, marketing and promotion. Wood products from Coillte’s sustainably-managed forests have a significant role to play in climate change mitigation. Wood products are both sustainable and renewable and require less energy to produce than many other common materials, so using wood as a substitute is better for the environment.
Not only do living trees sequester carbon, but the harvested wood continues to store this carbon in a variety of long-life wood products resulting in a positive environmental impact. These long-life wood products will build the low carbon homes of the future and underpin Ireland’s ambition of decarbonising the built environment to achieve ‘net zero’ by 2050.
Responsible for around three-quarters of the timber felled and processed in the Republic of Ireland, Coillte has bought close to 4,000 acres of forestry since 2020. The State forestry company’s revenues hit a record €479 million in 2022 and they thus pledged to pay the State a €27.7 million dividend for the year.
Coillte’s mission is to balance and deliver the multiple benefits of their forests to society, leaving an enriched resource for the next generation. Ireland’s forest industry will double in size over the next ten years and Coillte will be at the forefront of this growth with an innovative supply chain and a consistent reinvestment in the next generation of forests. Their vision is to become the leader of a fast-growing Irish forestry sector where technology, people and sustainability are at the core.
Coillte’s Land Solutions division works to deliver sustainable business solutions from Coillte’s land. Coillte Nature, a not-for-profit branch dedicated to the restoration, regeneration and rehabilitation of nature across Ireland, sits within the Land Solutions business. Its mission is to deliver real impact on the climate and biodiversity crises through largescale projects based on the best ecological evidence.
Coillte Nature builds on 35 years’ experience in forestry, land management and habitat restoration to deliver real impact on the climate and biodiversity crises through: afforesting our landscapes by planting new native woodlands on un-forested land; restoring important biodiversity areas by investing in major habitat improvements; regenerating urban forests for the benefit of people and nature; and rehabilitating ecosystem services by bringing sensitive or degraded lands into better health
Coillte’s approach is underpinned by principles of partnership, integrity and accountability, informed by the best ecological evidence, and supported through collaboration and engagement with public, private, non-governmental and community partners.
Coillte,
Dublin Road,
Newtownmountkennedy,
County Wicklow,
Tel: 0818 367 378
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.coillte.ie
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 12 No 2, July/August 2024
