We all occasionally have to stand up for the timber industry in the face of ill-informed criticism. But last week Alan Wheat of BSW Timber plc went way beyond the call of duty. He boldly ventured where, to my knowledge, no timber trader has gone before – into the lair of TV’s cruellest quiz show host, Anne Robinson (p3).
Mr Wheat braved The Weakest Link to raise money for charity. And as soon as he revealed to the BBC‘s queen of mean that he worked in the timber sector, she went on the offensive. It was the usual line of attack from the timber ignorant; the timber industry is responsible for deforestation and timber traders are ruthless “tree killers”. Where did Mr Wheat’s company plan to go next, she sneered, once they had denuded Scotland of all its woodland?
But Ms Robinson’s victim was unflustered by the venomous assault and, pretty much in one pithy sentence, got in that timber was beautiful and ecologically sound and that BSW and the industry were committed to replanting and safeguarding the environment. So if the timber industry is ever looking for a media spokesperson…
We have news this week of another development that should make timber less of a target for Ms Robinson’s brand of disinformation. The Confederation of Forest Industries (ConFor) has been evolving for a while and on Wednesday was officially launched in the presence of environment minister Elliot Morley.
The new body will act as an umbrella for the UK Forest Products and Forestry & Timber Associations and aims to “streamline and concentrate the industry voice”.
ConFor will also work with other organisations to put the industry’s case, including the Timber Trade Federation. With the TTF, it will also be developing the “Naturally Wood” sector sustainability strategy which is designed to raise awareness of the industry’s environmental performance and improve it further. It should be a positive force for forestry and timber and force critics like Ms Robinson to pick on someone else.
