Desirable properties of wood for sustainable development in the twenty-first century

We previously identified desirable properties for wood based on current market-based trends for commercial uses (Wegner et al. 2010). World business models increasingly incorporate the concept of social responsibility and the tenets of sustainable development. Sustainable development is needed to support an estimated 9 billion people by 2050 within the carrying capacities of the Earth. The supply of raw materials for the array of products we know today will be insufficient, and we will need to sustainably use forest-based resources as major sources of materials. For example, increasing demand for higher quality food will require enhanced packaging performance to minimize loss in shipping.