ProForest and Environmental Resources Management are to head up the government’s Central Point of Exertise on Timber Procurement (CPET).

Announcing the news this week, environment minister Elliot Morley said the two bodies would develop advice aimed at cutting through “the thicket of certification schemes currently applied to products”.

As well as developing the central point of expertise, the bodies will produce new on-line guidance to help suppliers and buyers judge the credibility of certification schemes and assess their capacity to meet public sector requirements. The first phase of the work is expected to be complete by September this year.

Meanwhile, The Timber Trade Federation (TTF) is developing its own code for responsible timber procurement for adoption by its members and the government is confident that the existence of the CPET will accelerate this shift in timber procurement practice.

Mr Morley said: “All those engaged in the fight to protect and conserve forests have been keen to see the establishment of a CPET. The UK is one of the top consumers of timber, much of which is imported, and we want to know that it comes from legal and preferably sustainable sources.”

&#8220It is in the interests of government and the trade to maximise the use of legal and sustainable timber as the best construction material to contribute to sustainable development”

Dr Penny Bienz, TTF head of environmental affairs

Dr Penny Bienz, head of environmental affairs at the TTF, said: “It is in the interests of both the government and the trade to maximise the use of legal and sustainable timber given its excellent environmental credentials, that guarantees its place as the best construction material to contribute to sustainable development.”

She said the TTF would support the government process as part of the advisory committe to CPET and through the development of a responsible purchasing policy which would help TTF members meet government procurement policy demands.