The American Hardwood Export Council has issued a statement defending the sustainability of US hardwood – even products which are not certified.

Although there is an increasing volume of US hardwood products certified through schemes such as the SFI and FSC, said AHEC, frameworks that rely on establishing traceability to specific forest management units are not always appropriate for the majority of US hardwood forests.

“With small land ownership in the US, it is almost impossible to prove chain of custody certification under a scheme like FSC,” said AHEC’s European director David Venables. “We have a sustainable resource and this statement is necessary to re-emphasise that we have a sustainable product. We spend a lot of time promoting our product to architects, who need to present the right image to their clients.”

&#8220The idea that we are not interested in protecting our long-term resource is ridiculous. But we are still in a situation where there is a negative view of wood, if it is not part of a particular certification scheme ”

AHEC European director David Venables

Lack of certification does not imply lack of sustainability, says the AHEC statement. “The idea that we are not interested in protecting our long-term resource is ridiculous,” said Mr Venables. “But we are still in a situation where there is a negative view of wood, if it is not part of a particular certification scheme. The bottom line is that the real competition is from other materials, particularly those that have not been investigated from an environmental perspective.”