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29.07.2024. On 26 July, France welcomed the world’s most iconic athletic competition, exactly 100 years after they were first disputed in Paris. Founded in Greece eight centuries before the current era, the games have evolved over time to express the values of ‘effort’, ‘excellence’, ‘respect’, ‘human dignity’, ‘harmony’ and ‘friendship’. Here are 5 things our certified wood products have in common with the world’s most famous sports games.

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1.    A sport is only considered ‘olympic’ when it is practiced in a minimum of 75 countries on at least 4 continents.

The largest rainforests are in the Amazon in Brazil (South America), the Democratic Republic of Congo (Africa) and Indonesia (South East Asia). Tropical rainforests are also found in Hawaii and the islands of the Pacific & Caribbean.

Although they only represent 12% of the earth’s surface, their trees engineer CO2 through solar-powered photosynthesis in a way that is beneficial to 100% of the world’s countries.

At Interholco, our most important value is the respect for this natural wonder over the full ecosystem spectrum.

We only harvest 0.8% trees per football pitch, only once every 30 years. This is to ensure that natural, old-growth forests can continue to regenerate naturally and do what they do best, i.e. providing essential services for millions of people, near and far, who depend on them.

 

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2.    The motto of the modern Olympics is “citius, altius, fortius”, which commonly translates as “faster, higher, stronger”.

A less hasty translation, mindful of the richness of Latin, opens a different interpretative horizon. ‘Citius, altius, fortius’ becomes "more readiness, more depth, more resilience".

Our wood products are prepared to ‘cross the finish line’ with flying colours.

The tree species we harvest responsibly in the rainforests of the Congo Basin are natural born champions. Nature made them more durable to the attack of fungi and parasites, even without chemical treatment.

Choosing our wood products for their natural properties makes our homes, cities and their surroundings more resilient to climate change, as their CO2 footprint is lower than that of wood competitors such as concrete, cement and aluminium.

 

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3.  Inclusion is part and parcel of the Games, blurring the lines. This year, 40,000 people are expected to join the ‘Marathon Pour Tous’, turning from spectators to participants.  

When you choose our wood products, you elevate the game of building sustainably, in more ways than one.

Take your wooden window frame, solid wood table-top or fancy decking terrace.

Just as you would inhale fresh air in a forest, wood improves indoor air quality and climate, having the ability to regulate humidity in a room.Mental wellness thrives from the natural effect of wood.

For example, a study in the wooden waiting room of the National Oncology Institute in Slovakia found that participants experienced a 7.5% decrease in cortisol levels, indicating a stress-reducing effect.

Another study conducted at an Austrian school compared students' experiences in classrooms - one with linoleum floors and plasterboard walls and one made of wood. Those in the wooden classroom had significantly lower heart rates and a lower perception of stress.

Ask the 19,000 people living in the forest your choice allows us to maintain.

Those local communities live in harmony with the trees, relying on tree leaves, bark and roots to meet their health needs, naturally.

 

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4. During the Games, athletes competing respect the same rules.

In a spirit of ‘fair play’, our wood products are checked at least once a year for technical and socio-environmental excellence.

External experts visit us in the forest surrounding the Sangha river, in the North of the Republic of Congo.

They observe the way we harvest trees according to the precautionary principle, i.e. only where effects can be predicted and where they are only temporary, causing no irreversible impact – on people or forest.They monitor our industrial know-how, which goes hand in hand with social safeguards for our workers, their families and communities. Deeper and beyond the performance of our products, they verify the socio-environmental quality of our wood.

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Our products are subject to 2 main types of third party verification: conformity certificates for industrial processing, such as CTB-LCA and KOMO for finger-jointed laminated scantlings and FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®, FSC® C022952) and PAFC (Pan-African Forest Certification) certificates for environmental sustainability. FSC and PAFC standards cover the entirety of our wood production.

You can thus choose the best wood for the best use, with peace of mind.

 

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5.  The Games seek to inspire a culture of peace and to create links amongst different cultures that represent the richness of diversity on our planet.

We like to think of your love for wood as a unifying factor. Carrefour International du Bois in Nantes is the go-to event for wood-based products and know-how. Our slogan at Carrefour du bois 2024 was Racing together, or ‘Ensemble dans la course’ in French.

Visitors of our stand took shelter in the Congo Basin forests, where our teams race daily to transform wood into solutions, for their families, communities and the world, at large. Just like the Olympic rings, our wood, sustainably produced in Africa, married accents, viewpoints, needs and expectations on our stand.

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Each for their own reasons, our visitors were enticed to our wood products. In fact, much like athletes at ease with who they are, very few materials of this calibre look quite as modest and unassuming. On top of their natural characteristics and engineered properties, our Sustainable Hardwood – Made in Africa helps answer some of humanity’s most burning questions:

To preserve natural tropical forests (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15).

To fight against climate change (UN SDG 13).

To lift people out of poverty (UN SDG 1) with the dignity of equitable jobs and living wages (UN SDG 8) while their families and children have access to quality essential services: not just health facilities (UN SDG 3), but also, a library with free IT and English courses (UN SDG 4).

Our wood products are each working their magic: to build bridges, connect worlds. In the common quest for a shared sense of purpose, on wood we stand united.

Your turn to play!

 

About Interholco

The valorisation of a natural forest of 1.16 million hectares in the Republic of Congo Brazzaville is our DNA here at INTERHOLCO. As an FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®, FSC® C022952) and PEFC and PAFC certified producer, INTERHOLCO is a well-established player in the trade of its edged boules, sawn timber, glue laminated scantlings, decking boards and more.

We are a leading provider of high-quality wood products ‘Made in Africa’ holding a verified environmental and health performance statement (FDES requirement in France). Our teams carefully manage the supply chain from forest to customer. Our story is fully illustrated by enabling the people living in Ngombe to access better life conditions. We make it possible to design and build a healthy living environment with bio-based, eco-friendly materials, one of the real solutions for the planet and climate. Follow us on LinkedIn

Communication contact Interholco

Tullia Baldassarri Höger von Högersthal
INTERHOLCO AG, Neuhofstr. 25, 6340 Baar, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 (0)41 767 03 82 
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sustainability report 2022

INTERHOLCO Sustainability Report 2022 cover

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