SWST Short Term Scientific Mission
Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST)
Oregon State University, College of Forestry, Department of Wood Science & Engineering, Corvallis, Oregon, US
Beneficiary: Dr. Andreja Pirc Barčić, Assistant Professor, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Department for Production Organization, CROATIA
Host: Dr. Eric Hansen, Professor, Oregon State University, College of Forestry, Department of Wood Science & Engineering, Oregon, the United States
Period: from 04/11/2019 to 15/11/2019
Place: Oregon State University, College of Forestry, Department of Wood Science & Engineering, Corvallis, Oregon, US
Contribution and potential of wood industry and its products to the circular economy:
Case examples from the US and Central-Southeast Europe
The institutions involved in the mission were Department of Wood Science & Engineering at College of Forestry at Oregon State University in Corvallis (OR, US) and Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at University of Zagreb (Zagreb, Croatia). An assistant professor at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology University of Zagreb (Croatia), Andreja Pirc Barčić, visited professor Eric Hansen for two weeks, establishing collaborative research addressing components of the circular economies in the wood-based sector focusing on examples in the U.S. and Central-South-Eastern European countries. This collaborative research helped in creating and strengthening a network between the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology University of Zagreb and College of Forestry at OSU. This set the ground for a fruitful cooperation for current and future scientific research. The purpose of this SWST STSM was to present the contribution of the wood-based industry to the concepts of sharing and collaborative economies as components of the circular economy. Additionally, the aim of the SWST STSM was to strengthen existing and build new capacities for international partnership between Oregon State University, College of Forestry and Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology University of Zagreb. This aim was accomplished.
WORK CARRIED OUT DURING THE STSMS
- Scientific papers, professional study documents, and policies, regarding the sharing and collaborative economies in the U.S. and Europe (economy in general, but also within the wood-based sector) were reviewed and summarized, all relative to sharing and collaborative models as aspects of the circular economy. A theoretical background of the circular economy & sharing economy was developed with an example of IKEA, one of the best-known examples of sharing economy in the wood-based sector. Also, documents and policies supporting sharing and collaborative principles related to the U.S. and European markets were examined.
- Based primarily on the work of Codagnone and Martens (2016), Botsman (2013), Botsman and Rogers (2010a); Botsman and Rogers (2010b); and Codagnone et al. (2016) examples of the sharing economy and/or collaborative economy related to the U.S. and Central-Southeastern European market were traced. Examples were categorized based on different business models - P2P (Peer-to-Peer); B2P (Business-to-Peer), P2B (Peer-to-Business); B2B (Business-to-Business).
- Further, data analysis about perceptions of the sharing and collaborative economies within the wood-based sector was conducted using data from a survey of the Slovenian wood-based sector stakeholders (data were collected before the SWST STSM).
- Connect with a number of faculty members within the Department as well as Dr. Meelis Teder from Estonia who was on a Fulbright scholarship to OSU. In addition, I taught in the graduate course „The Context of the Global Forest Sector“ at the request of Dr. Scott Leavengood, Professor and Director of the Oregon Wood Innovation Center.
FUTURE COLLABORATIONS
The STSM gave me the opportunity to develop a fruitful scientific collaboration, which will result in publications, as well as in the future visits to College of Forestry, Oregon State University for further projects and scientific cooperation. One aspect of this cooperation that will be realized in the near is a visit by Eric Hansen to the University of Zagreb Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology in December 2019.
More importantly, this STSM gave me an extremely valuable experience to extend my knowledge regarding the circular economy and sharing economy which will be used in the development of the actions needed for the cascade use of wood, wood products and utilization of wood following ‘circular’, ‘sharing’, and/or ‘caring’ principles in the Middle and Southeast Europe bio-based sector. Cascading use of wood is the smart way to use a natural resource – putting it to good use before it is reused, recycled and finally burnt for energy. It strongly overlaps with circular economy ideas. The work undertaken during this STSM will be presented at the SWST Conference in 2020, Slovenia, in the effort to expose the research community to the research innovations, discoveries and impacts, as well as bringing to the community the experience of an international collaboration in the spirit of the ethics of the STSM.