Responsible Timber Futures through policy and practice
How can public buildings and housing serve as catalysts for a more resilient forest landscape? In turn, how can resilient forests support the creation of healthy, energy-efficient, and affordable homes? And how can policy strengthen a resilient value chain that sustains both thriving forest landscapes and high-quality, affordable housing. These big questions frame the focus of this year’s conference.
WoodBUILD 2026 will once more gather voices from across the forestry and timber construction value chain including policy makers, knowledge creators and practical doers, to explore these across 2 days of keynote presentations, knowledge exchange and practice demonstration.
Learn about international approaches to innovation in regional forest economies, be inspired by contagiously grassroots initiatives in working with communities, gather insights on impact finance to support industry transformation and use the opportunity to share your own stories and ideas in our practice-focused workshops and networking sessions.
Join over 250 industry leaders on 30 June – 01 July in Trefforest to connect, innovate, and drive meaningful change.
Venue: University of South Wales, Trefforest Campus, Llantwit Road, Pontypridd CF37 1DL
WoodBUILD 2026 will unite timber and construction stakeholders to collaborate, innovate, and drive opportunities for meaningful change.
Full programme
Please note this programme represents our best understanding of events at this stage but remains subject to potential updates prior to the event.
Expand each section to explore further …
Monday 29 June: Pre-WoodBUILD 2026 Site Visits
Join one of five site visits on your way to WoodBUILD 2026. These stand-alone tours offer behind-the-scenes access to a range of sites across south Wales and the Valleys.
Details to be confirmed in due course
Day 1: What forest? What timber? What building?
Looking at the future ahead, this day starts with a review of where we’ve got to so far in our endeavours before diving straight into forecasts for forests, construction, society and geopolitical contexts that impact our industry. It continues with the question of how to work with communities to deliver greater impact across the value chain and finishes with a panel conversation around policy requirements for the next Welsh Government and what we can learn from other regions in Europe.
09:00 Arrivals, refreshments, exhibition and networking
Kick off your WoodBUILD experience at the conference centre’s reception area, where our friendly team will be ready to greet you at the WoodBUILD desk. Pick up your badge, sign up for workshops, and then head into the main hall to enjoy refreshments, meet fellow attendees, and explore our vibrant exhibition space.
The buzz starts here—welcome to Day 1!
09:30 Opening welcome
To kick things off, our fantastic MC Rachel Cook who runs Networks for Woodknowledge Wales, will take the stage with a warm welcome and a look ahead at what’s in store. Get ready for a day packed with fresh ideas, big conversations, and plenty of inspiration.
09:45 Plenary 1: Innovation through collaboration – where we made progress
This is a moment to look at our collective and individual progress since WoodBUILD 2025. Learn about innovation projects our sponsors have been working on. Share some of your own projects and find out how, together, we’ve been advancing the formidable five: purposeful growing, added-value processing, low-carbon manufacturing, net-zero construction and fostering an enabling wood culture.
10:30 Refreshments, exhibition and networking
Make your way into the coffee lounge, on the ground floor of the Conference Centre to enjoy refreshments. Network with your peers as you peruse our 20 indoor and outdoor exhibition stands in the adjacent main hall. This is where connections are made!
11:00 Plenary 2: Leading from the future – forests, buildings, finance
Hear from our visionary speakers, how they expect the future to unfold. We’ll be looking at economic, ecological, social and geopolitical forecasts and more and how these may impact our industry beyond what we already take into account in today’s business decisions and operations.
12:30 Lunch, exhibition, networking
It’s time to recharge and reconnect. Make your way into the coffee lounge, on the ground floor of the Conference Centre for buffet lunch and refreshing drinks. As you refuel, take the opportunity to explore the exhibition in the main hall, and strike up a conversation—you never know where a good chat might lead.
13:30 Plenary 3: Leading from the now – working with communities
Discover some of the contagious bottom-up projects working with communities on retrofit and newbuild projects as well as forest management and timber processing. Learn how these grassroots approaches nourish diversity and inclusion whilst addressing poverty through tangible action in forest and building construction and what funders investing into these projects are looking for.
15:00 Refreshments, exhibition and networking
Join us again in the ground floor coffee lounge (in the Conference Centre) for refreshments, good conversation. Pop into the main hall to connect with peers in a space designed to inspire collaboration and innovation.
15:30 Plenary 4: Transformation in land use and society – where now for policy?
Across Europe the question of transformation in land use and society is being discussed on a regional and national level. Catalonia demonstrates an innovative and politically bold approach to fostering a forest based bioeconomy in a socio-economically challenging context. How does this relate to the situation in Wales and the UK? What inspiration can newly elected Senedd members take from this example? What are the key questions that require addressing over the next political mandate?
Join our keynote speaker and a panel of policy makers and industry members for a dialogue around the policy questions that matter.
16:30 Plenary 5: Navigating the leading edge
After a full day of conversations around present and future opportunities and concerns, our keynote speaker will help us lift up potential and underlying patterns in our work.
Speaker: Oliver Broadbent, Constructivists
17:00 CLOSE
We look forward to continuing our discussions informally over dinner.
18:30 Networking and dinner
An informal gathering with drinks served in the Stilts restaurant on campus, followed by a hot buffet on campus will allow us all to keep the buzz going, listen to a few impromptu announcements and celebrate some off-programme successes as we all enjoy some locally prepared food.
Day 2: Forestry, timber and construction projects that make a difference
Day 2 focuses on the practical questions that matter. This year we’re placing particular emphasis on cross-cutting issues that concern different parts of the value chain. We’ll be looking at future tree species and future investments in housing and forest infrastructure, how to make wood work for rural communities, how to unlock biobased materials for the retrofit market, skills and inclusion, and the role of policy in driving the timber age through public procurement to name but a few.
09:00 Arrivals, refreshments, exhibition and networking
Welcome back! Head through the main reception and make your way into the coffee lounge in the Conference Centre and the exhibition hall. Enjoy morning refreshments, reconnect with peers, and ease into another inspiring day at WoodBUILD.
09:30 Opening welcome
Our brilliant MC, Rachel Cook, is back to give you a warm WoodBUILD welcome. She’ll guide us into Day 2 with a smile, a spark, and a quick look back at the highlights from Day 1—setting the tone for another day of insight, ideas, and inspiration.
09:45 Plenary 1: The devil’s in the detail – questions that matter
What are the hands-on questions that matter most to people in the industry? This session is designed to spark down to earth conversations on a kaleidoscope of questions brought in by you. Please respond to our two questions in the registration form to fuel the conversation. Your input will provide the basis for this morning’s keynote presentation and panel debate.
10:30 Refreshments, exhibition and networking
Feeling inspired? Stretch your legs and drop by the coffee lounge in the Conference Centre. With coffee brewing and conversations flowing, it’s the perfect moment to catch up with peers and dive back into our exhibition space—there’s always something new to discover.
11:00 Parallel breakout sessions: choose one of four sessions.
Option 1: Finance and insurance meets home-grown and reclaimed timber
Option 2: Future investment in housing meets forest management and processing infrastructure.
Option 3: Forest action meets community needs: woodlands as a common good
Option 4: Policy action meets timber potential: leading the timber age with public buildings
12:30 Lunch, exhibition, networking
Lunch is served—and so are the connections. Head back to the coffee lounge in the Conference Centre once again for a buffet lunch that fuels both body and mind. Whether you’re diving into conversation or taking a final stroll through the adjacent exhibition, this is another opportunity to share ideas, swap stories, and sow the seeds of collaboration.
13:30 Parallel breakout sessions: choose one of five sessions
Option 1: Making wood work for rural communities
Option 2: Making natural fibre insulation work for new build and retrofit
Option 3: Making the grade: unlocking opportunities for a variety of timber species and reclaimed timber
Option 4: Healthy kids for healthy futures: investing in the performance of biobased school buildings
Option 5: Resilient forests for resilient industries: prioritising productive tree species in Wales
15:00 Refreshments, exhibition and networking
Join us in the coffee lounge of the Conference Centre for refreshments, good conversation, and a chance to connect with peers in a space designed to inspire collaboration and innovation.
15:30 Plenary 2: Making the difference that matters
Keynote presentation – to be confirmed
Further details to follow shortly.
16:45 Famous last words
As this conference draws to a close, what are we taking with us and what are we inclined to move forward between now and summer 2027?
17:00 Conference Close
Sponsors and programme supporters
Creating inspiring places for people to live, learn, work, care, play and protect
Morgan Sindall Construction is a UK construction business operating through a network of local offices. Capabilities span the full range of construction activity, from special works and repair and maintenance to major landmark projects delivered independently or through long‑term frameworks. The business continues to challenge the status quo, to deliver lower carbon, regenerative assets that enhance the community.
FSC UK is a non-profit organisation, providing trusted solutions to help protect the world’s forests and tackle today’s deforestation, climate and biodiversity challenges. Its mission is to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests. Its “tick tree” logo is found on millions of products worldwide, verifying responsible sourcing from the forest to shelf.
FSC’s pioneering system, covering more than 170 million hectares of forest, enables businesses and consumers to choose wood, paper and other forest products made with materials that support responsible forestry.
Saint-Gobain is a global construction solutions supplier, employing over 160,000 employees in 80 countries worldwide. Our purpose is to make the world a better home – and in the UK, we’re delivering that quite literally via our range of closed-panel timber frame housing solutions.
We use a combination of global know-how and local knowledge to specify the most appropriate systems for our customers, which are then manufactured off-site under quality controlled factory conditions to ensure that that the finished homes deliver on their promised performance. All systems come with the assurance of our rigorous testing credentials and global warranty.
Exhibitors
We remain open to sponsor and exhibitor enquiries.
Celtic Offsite is a leading manufacturer of high-quality, sustainable timber frame homes, featuring factory-fitted insulation and windows.
FSC UK is a non-profit organisation, providing trusted solutions to help protect the world’s forests and tackle today’s deforestation, climate, and biodiversity challenges.
Lowfield Timber Frames specialise in providing high-quality, sustainable timber frame solutions for construction projects across the UK. With over 25 years of experience supplying our engineered timber products, we have earned a reputation for service, quality, and excellence in all areas.
We are committed to transforming the construction industry by promoting environmentally friendly building practices and reducing carbon footprints. Our mission is to deliver innovative, energy-efficient building systems while ensuring superior craftsmanship and client satisfaction. By focusing on sustainability, energy efficiency, and innovative building practices, we aim to help our clients create structures that stand the test of time while minimising environmental impact.
Rothoblaas is an Italian multinational with Alpine roots and an active presence in more than 70 countries.
We design, manufacture and distribute solutions for timber and hybrid construction, suitable for both prefabrication and on-site assembly including, post-and-beam, timber frame and ventilated façades.
Our solutions cover fastening, airtightness, waterproofing, soundproofing, passive fire protection, safety at height, as well as machinery, equipment and technical consultancy.
Our mission is to make the best timber construction solutions available worldwide, adapting them to different building systems and local markets.
Our vision is to promote timber construction that is accessible, safe and efficient.
Saint-Gobain is a construction component manufacturer offering a range of thoughtfully designed large-format roof and walling components, all manufactured off-site.
SO Modular is a Wales based offsite manufacturing specialist delivering high quality timber frame and modular solutions across the UK. Operating from a net zero operational carbon manufacturing facility, the company designs, manufactures and erects sustainable, technically advanced construction solutions for residential, commercial and public sector projects.
Established in 1996, SO Modular combines in house technical expertise with precision manufacturing to deliver efficient, design led schemes with programme certainty. Continuous investment in innovation, sustainability and AI driven production tracking supports long term growth, improved efficiency and high quality outcomes for clients, communities and the environment.
Warmcel insulation is a high performance insulation for timber framed buildings, sustainably manufactured from recycled newspaper.
Tickets
| Full price | Early Bird* | |
| Two-day ticket | £275 + VAT | £175 + VAT |
| One-day ticket | £175 + VAT | £125 + VAT |
| WKW members (two-day pass with AGM) | £150 + VAT | £115 + VAT |
| Students** | £75 | n/a |
| Conference dinner (30 June) | £35 + VAT | n/a |
*Early bird ticket offer ends 30 April 2026.
** Limited availability. Please note: For student tickets only bookings made from an academic email address are accepted.
All tickets give access to both conference and exhibition.
How we get there
This year’s event will take place at University of South Wales, Trefforest, Pontypridd, Wales, CF37 1DL.
Arriving by train
Trains to Trefforest run regularly from Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street stations, with typical journey times of 20 minutes.
Arriving by car
The visitors car park is located opposite the main campus.
