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Increased Availability of Certified Firewood in Biobío Strengthens Sustainable Consumption

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The Biobío Region has made significant progress in the commercialization of firewood with the Quality Seal, reaching an available volume of 37,544 cubic meters. This achievement has been possible thanks to the work of 53 certified biomass processing centers, strategically distributed across the region's three provinces.

Access to certified firewood is key to reducing environmental impact and improving the energy efficiency of the resource, ensuring consumers can rely on a quality product that is dry and emits less particulate matter.

In this context, companies like JTC Maderas have played a fundamental role in consolidating a more regulated and sustainable market, promoting the responsible use of biomass.

The Quality Seal certifies that the firewood comes from an adequate drying process and responsible management of forest resources, avoiding illegal logging and indiscriminate use of native wood. The certification not only benefits consumers by guaranteeing a more efficient product but also contributes to the sustainability of the forestry sector and the reduction of air pollution.

Regional authorities have emphasized the importance of continuing to strengthen firewood certification and increasing the supply of this product in the formal market. Additionally, they have reiterated the call for the community to choose certified firewood, thereby contributing to environmental protection and the development of a more responsible industry.

With initiatives like these, Biobío is advancing toward consolidating a more sustainable energy model, where the efficient use of natural resources and a commitment to quality play an essential role in community well-being.

The Regional Minister of Energy, Jorge Cáceres, stated that the "Integral Biomass Center has been fundamental in contributing to having more dry firewood with a quality seal in Biobío. This brings benefits to families with a clean and safe fuel, while also helping the environment by reducing polluting gases and making consumption safer and more efficient."

Meanwhile, the executive director of the Energy Sustainability Agency, Rosa Riquelme, highlighted the center's positive impact, noting that it is "a highly innovative experience that provides dry firewood with a certified quality seal, demonstrating not only that producing dry firewood is possible but also making a quality product available at a reasonable cost, so families in Biobío can enjoy the benefits of dry firewood—less pollution and more energy per unit of product."

On the other hand, the owner of the Integral Biomass Center, Rut Morales, said that for "us, it has been fantastic; we are very happy and proud to have this new innovative technology, which helps us in our processes to gradually increase our sales capacity to our customers and, of course, improve the quality of our product and our new innovation—the dryer we acquired, a unique technology here in Chile."