Wood heating supports local employment

To support local employment, you can always count on wood heating. 

As we have seen in previous episodes, wood heating is a choice for the future for multiple reasons. Firstly, because it defends consumers' purchasing power (wood energy is the cheapest and most stable energy on the market), then because it is an ally in the face of the climate challenge (it is an essential energy in the French energy mix, and what's more, a renewable energy that helps reduce our dependence on fossil fuels), and finally because it guarantees lasting comfort (improved performance helps reduce our energy consumption and emissions). But that's not all.

Wood heating also brings with it a whole industry, from forestry to the installation of wood-burning heating appliances and equipment maintenance. These are jobs that are deeply rooted in our regions. The socio-economic importance of wood heating in France is therefore another aspect to be taken into consideration.

Wood heating professions...

Wood heating professions can be divided into three main categories, each of which includes numerous sub-categories of activities and professions:

• - Wood energy stakeholders: forestry, production and marketing of wood fuel.
• - Manufacturers and industrialists: manufacture of wood-burning heating appliances and smoke extraction systems.
• - Installation professionals: installation, servicing and maintenance of equipment for customers and users.
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In addition to this network of professionals, there are other complementary professions such as training, inspection and energy performance consulting organisations, operators of heating installations and networks.

According to the SER, « the domestic wood heating sector, with companies located throughout France, including 150 factories, (...) generates around 35,000 direct and non-relocatable jobs ».

… Anchored in the local from start to finish

When we talk about the wood heating sector, we are talking about jobs that cannot be relocated. For several reasons.

1. 1. First, because the majority of wood energy used in France comes from local forests. This requires human resources on site (arborists, loggers, forestry technicians), in the heart of rural areas.
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2. 2. Secondly, because wood energy prefers short supply chains. This means that pellets, logs and wood chips are produced as close as possible to forests and industrial sites and then distributed through local commercial networks.
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The shorter the distance traveled by the wood, the more limited the costs and emissions caused by transport and the more controlled the final price.

3. 3. In the manufacturing of heating appliances (stoves, boilers, inserts, closed fireplaces) and equipment (flues), France also has genuine industrial know-how and a strong capacity for innovation.
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Leader in France and Europe, our company manufactures flues and pre-fabricated chimney stacks, Cheminées Poujoulat, employs more than 750 people at its production site near Niort (Deux-Sèvres). Established in France since 1950, it is a major player in the local economic, social, cultural, and sporting sectors, as it is involved in several partnership, training, awareness-raising, and other programs. In other words, the impact of a company cannot be measured only by indicators such as the number of jobs or wealth created.

4. 4. Wood heating is finally a whole network of installers, craftsmen, heating engineers, construction companies, maintenance technicians and chimney sweeps whose activity is often rooted locally.
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Each link in the chain promotes local labor, with a virtuous domino effect: a wood-burning heating appliance sold means wood fuel consumed, an installer mobilized, then a chimney sweep for maintenance.

“Wood energy generates 3 to 4 times more jobs in France than fossil fuels.”

(Source: Questions and Answers, Wood Energy, SER - 2021)

Choosing wood heating, a “made in France” choice

As a local, decentralised AND renewable energy source (let's not forget that!), wood is able to adapt to regional constraints like few other energy sources. Consumed where it is produced, wood energy is a lever for creating value and sustaining employment in rural areas.

« To supply heating systems in rural areas or district heating networks, the raw material remains within the regional perimeter of the production site, often at distances of less than 100 km. »

(Source: Questions and Answers, Wood Energy, SER - 2021)

Finally, let us remember that, beyond supporting the local economy, consciously or not, choosing wood heating contributes to making the French energy system more autonomous by making it less dependent on imported fossil fuels, and therefore securing it in the long term.