On Thursday, 13th of November 2025, the 13th Development Day of the Forest-Based Sector took place at the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Center, as part of the Ambient and Dom plus fair, organized by SPIRIT Slovenia in cooperation with the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, together with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, the Wood Industry Cluster, the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, the Forestry Institute of Slovenia and the Slovenian Woodworkers’ Association. This year’s Development Day focused on the very topical theme of the introduction of EU environmental policies and opportunities for increasing added value and developing wood and furniture companies.

Letošnji Razvojni dan je bil osredotočen na aktualno tematiko uvajanja okoljske politike EU ter priložnosti za dvig dodane vrednosti v razvoju lesnih in pospešenih podjetij. Prikazani so bili primeri dobre prakse, kako se prilagajajo in odzivajo v EU, kakšne politike in podpore pripravlja država in kako raziskovalci podpirajo podjetje pri prehodu v trajnostno poslovanje. V polno veljavo prihajajo naslednje direktive iz paketa Zelenega dogovora, kar bo od panoge terjalo veliko časa, sredstev in znanja pa tudi inovativnosti in prodornosti s svežimi idejami, produkti in poslovnimi modeli.

The event was attended by more than 135 participants from various fields, including management and development staff from companies, researchers, architects, designers, students, representatives of ministries and the media, and was coordinated by Gregor Murn.

The event was opened by State Secretary at the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport Dejan Židan, who stressed the importance of the forest and timber sector for Slovenia and expressed further support for its green transition and strengthening of competitiveness. In light of the European Green Deal, the Slovenian wood and furniture industry is successfully adapting by introducing new products and innovations, which is reflected in the growth of added value per employee. This adaptation is also actively supported by the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, which has already allocated more than 41 million euros in subsidies for 185 projects since 2022, with the aim of promoting sustainable growth and efficient exploitation of domestic wood. It was followed by a welcoming speech by Undersecretary at the Directorate for Forestry and Hunting at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Tomaž Remic.

The opening session of the event was dedicated to the EU strategic framework and regulations that significantly affect the forest-timber sector. Žiga Čebulj, CER – Partnership for a Sustainable Economy, Silvia Melengari, CEI Bois – European Confederation of Woodworking Industries and Gabriella Kemendi, EFIC – European Furniture Industries Confederation, highlighted how companies can leverage the principles of the circular economy to increase added value. The focus was on the concrete implementation of key European legislation and projects, such as the EUDR (EU Deforestation Regulation) and the EMFF (Ecodesign Regulation for Sustainable Products) and the r-Evolve project, which will shape the future of the wood and furniture industry.

The second part offered an insight into concrete innovations and successful business models in the Slovenian forest and wood sector. Examples of good practices of companies were presented; Eva Rihter for Rihter d.o.o. with circular business models and Črt Jaklič for LynxCraft d.o.o. with an innovative construction platform. The presentations also covered promising development projects; Matjaž Božič for the startup Rutena with Mycopor composites based on fungi and Ida Poljanšek with a presentation of advanced composites with nanocellulose (BaPur M-ERA NET) to international research initiatives such as ARCHI-SKIN (Horizon Europe), presented by Anja Černoš and WoodInnovate (Interreg) presented by Miha Humar.

The event concluded with a central round table on the topic: “The Great Green Wave of Change – How to Increase Added Value for Wood and Companies?” The discussion, moderated by Aleš Ugovšek (M Sora d.d.), brought together key stakeholders from industry, research and the state. Participants, including Marta Kelvišar, Director of Adria Dom, Marko Lukić, Director of Lumar IG, Primož Simončič from the Forestry Institute of Slovenia, Primož Oven from the Biotechnical Faculty and Darko Sajko, Director General of the Directorate for Wood at the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, sought synergies and solutions for the efficient use of wood and the long-term sustainable growth of the sector, which is often measured in added value per employee, in light of current environmental and economic challenges.

You can find a video recording of the discussion HERE, and Aleš Ugovšek’s post HERE.

The event was concluded with an occasional reception sponsored by the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Association of Wood and Furniture Industries and SRIP PSiDL, as well as business b2b meetings with Ukrainian, Spanish and Romanian companies (reBUILD project).

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The event is organized by SPIRIT Slovenia, a public agency with financial support from the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport.

Co-organizers: