Dr Jerker Jäder, Research Director at SCA Forest Products, was recently elected as the new Chair of the Forest Sector Platform at the 2026 General Assembly. He succeeds Katariina Kemppainen, SVP Group R&D at Metsä Group, who is stepping down to become Chair of the Biobased Industries Consortium (BIC) Board.

“Forest Sector Platform is a valuable asset to the European forest-based sector. With modest resources, it is the coordination node for the sector’s European efforts in collaborative R&D. It also advises the EU on how to support R&D in an important European industry, rooted in a renewable and domestically sourced raw material. I would like to see Forest Sector Platform expand on its service offer to provide even greater value to its existing members” said Jäder.

Jerker Jäder sits at the SCA Group R&D in Sundsvall, north Sweden. The core of SCA’s business is the forest and it offers packaging paper, pulp, wood products, renewable energy and services for forest owners. SCA is Europe’s largest private forest owner and an important employer with strong ties to the communities in the north of Sweden.

The Forest Sector Platform is a European Technology Platform (ETP) dedicated to the forest-based sector. It is the meeting place for industry, forest owners, researchers and public authorities, to discuss and build up a critical mass of knowledge on common research and innovation needs for the sector, and to decide on the best ways to cooperate. The main aim is to develop, promote and implement a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, to advance competitiveness and sustainability of the forest-based sector through innovation.