Stilles’ CLT Passport Project Nominated for the GZS Gold Award – Setting a New Standard for Traceability in Timber Construction
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia has shortlisted our digital passport for CLT panels among the nominees for the 2026 Gold Award for Regional Innovation. The solution establishes full traceability of every cross-laminated timber panel, from the origin of raw materials to installation in the building, thereby supporting a safer, more transparent, and more sustainable future of construction.
The expert committee recognized the digital passport for CLT panels as one of the most promising regional innovations of the year, confirming that Stilles’ development approach — combining 80 years of woodworking tradition with digital manufacturing — creates solutions that address the future of construction in Europe.
This year’s central theme of the competition, “Innovations Creating a Safe Future,” is directly reflected in CLT Passport. Every CLT panel leaving our production facility receives a QR code that opens a structured digital record containing six levels of data: timber origin and grading, adhesive batch number and expiration date, pressing process parameters with second-level precision, production equipment calibration data, environmental conditions in the production hall captured by IoT sensors, and final quality control records. If any question arises regarding a structural element at any point during the building’s lifecycle, the answer — supported by measurable data — can be retrieved within minutes.
The significance of this step extends beyond our company. In December 2024, the European Union adopted the revised Construction Products Regulation (CPR, 2024/3110), establishing the regulatory basis for mandatory digital product passports for construction materials — including timber construction products, expected between 2028 and 2030. In parallel, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR, 2024/1781) will establish a centralized European DPP registry by July 2026. With CLT Passport, Stilles is meeting these requirements several years ahead of mandatory implementation — a key strategic advantage for a company operating in regulated European markets and a clear message to investors and designers.
The innovation already delivers measurable benefits today. We have reduced the time required to process potential claims by approximately 80%, eliminated the risk of using expired adhesives through systematic controls, and enabled designers to access verifiable carbon footprint data for every individual panel — an important contribution to BREEAM and LEED certifications, as well as CSRD/ESG reporting. As a construction material, CLT stores carbon (approximately 0.8 t CO₂ per m³ of wood), while concrete and steel generate emissions; with the digital passport, this difference becomes verifiable for every installed element.
The nomination for the Gold Award comes only one year after receiving the Silver Award for HelioPilot — an intelligent energy management solution for solar production and major energy consumers. Two consecutive recognitions among the region’s top innovations confirm that systematic innovation development has become an integral part of Stilles’ manufacturing and development culture. The development of CLT Passport also involved InnoRenew CoE, Slovenia’s leading research center for renewable materials — a synergy between industry and science that is essential for the competitive development of the European wood industry.
At Stilles, together with our partners, customers, and colleagues, we are building a safe and traceable future — from wood that has a name, an origin, and a story.
