Mr. Manuel Torralbo Rodríguez, Honourable Rector of the University of Cordoba and Mr Francisco José Espejo Jiménez, Executive President of Onesta, signed the Onesta Chair of Bioproducts for Construction on 12 June 2023.

This Chair is the first in Spain specialising in this field, encompassing the forestry-industry-construction value chain, from research into the genetic improvement of species, to the optimisation of forest use, and the development and innovation of products for their integration into construction solutions.

The Chair was created with the aim of being a focus of attraction to foster the generation of synergies and promote a spirit of collaboration with all national and international research centres and universities with a study objective related to this field.

By signing the agreement, both companies undertake to carry out research, development and knowledge transfer activities, as well as formal and non-formal training in the field of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering.

Its activity is focused on research, knowledge transfer, training and dissemination in subjects related to:

• Agroforestry resources and their integrated management.
• Quantification of their ecosystem services, especially carbon storage and wood supply.
• The bioproducts industry aimed at low carbon footprint construction.

The Chair is directed by Marta Conde García, professor of the Agroforestry Engineering Department of the Higher Technical School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering.

The Joint Commission, responsible for supervising the activities of the Chair, is formed by:

• Mr Manuel Torralbo Rodríguez, Honourable Rector of the University of Cordoba or, in his absence, Ms Lourdes Arce Jiménez, Vice-Rector for Innovation and Transfer of the University of Cordoba
• Ms Rosa María Gallardo Cobos, Director of the Higher Technical School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering.
• Mr Carlos Navarro García-Gutiérrez, Operations Director at ONESTA.
• Ms Marta Sánchez Fernández, Director of the Projects Department at ONESTA.

The agreement has an initial duration of four years. To enable its operation, Onesta will finance the Chair with a total contribution of 190,000 euros during this period.