Sustainable Supply Chains in the Forest Bioeconomy: A Systematic Review

Hamish van der Ven () and Kodiak Bear
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Hamish van der Ven: Department of Wood Science, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, 4644-2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Kodiak Bear: Department of Wood Science, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, 4644-2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: The forest bioeconomy is an emerging global sector that uses forest material to make value-added bioproducts that range from pharmaceuticals to biofuels. Notwithstanding their capacity to advance various United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, forest bioproducts face considerable sustainability challenges in global supply chains associated with harvesting, processing, and transportation. Using a systematic literature review focused on challenges and solutions to sustainability in forest bioeconomy supply chains, we analyze 81 peer-reviewed studies to identify the primary sustainability challenges and their attendant solutions. We find that economic barriers to scaling the forest bioeconomy are the most commonly studied challenge, while social and environmental challenges are often marginalized. Increasing stakeholder engagement is the most commonly mentioned solution, but the limitations of stakeholder engagement are largely absent from scholarly discourse. Lastly, we identify significant gaps in the literature related to coverage of non-European countries and analysis of key sectors like mass timber construction. The results gesture to the need for more research on under-represented regions and sectors, greater attention to social and environmental supply chain challenges, and deeper engagement with adjacent literatures on the intersection of public policy with sustainable supply chain governance.

Keywords: forest bioeconomy; sustainable supply chains; bioproducts; biomass (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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