The Timber Trade Federation’s managing director, David Hopkins, took the opportunity to present future strategy to members at the organisation’s annual general meeting last month.
The basic mission, said Mr Hopkins, was to promote TTF members as suppliers of quality timber products and to connect with “market influencers” – whether they be presenters on TV property shows, politicians, merchants or building contractors – on their behalf.
Within that mission the TTF has some key strategic objectives. These include managing risk and reputation on behalf of the sector and providing tools that enable members to do so themselves; education and training, which is “absolutely crucial for the ongoing sustainability of the sector”; and membership services.
Another objective, one that underpins all the TTF’s other activities, is to improve communication and engagement. “I want to ensure that the approach we take throughout our whole strategy is very much project-led,” said Mr Hopkins. “We’re very keen that if we start a project we finish it and the outcome is communicated. Engagement with the wider market is essential.”
Four major projects that sit within an overarching “PR: reputation and values” communications campaign, are already under way or are in the pipeline and are targeted at the timber industry’s core audience – merchants and builders.
All four projects – CPET training; a panel products quality assurance review; an RPP review; and product marketing – are intended to spread the message that being a member of the TTF has value and, perhaps more importantly, that customers equate the TTF logo and membership with integrity, compliance and with supplying products that are fit for purpose. While the UK government still has a Timber Procurement Policy for the public sector, it cut funding to its Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) earlier this year, creating a gap in the market for training on sustainable timber procurement.
“The TTF should be delivering that training to those audiences and we have already started creating a RIBA-accredited programme,” said Mr Hopkins.
The plan is for the programme to be saved onto memory sticks so that TTF members throughout the country are able to deliver the training wherever it is needed, whether it’s at an architect’s office, a building company or a local authority.
“We’re looking for leaders to show leadership and volunteer to do this,” said Mr Hopkins. “What’s in it for you? You will be the face that is associated with sustainable timber.”
Another project designed to enhance reputation is the quality assurance review of the panel products sector, which launched on June 15.
“UK and European panel manufacturing companies have been working really hard to develop and enhance their reputation and deliver market information to customers in order to sell an increased range of products,” said Nick Boulton, TTF head of technical and trade.
“But while that is going on there is still a customer perception that panel products are not always easy to specify and purchase. There is also a perception that goods coming from outside the EU may not be meeting our expectations or all the requirements of European standards.”
The QA review, Mr Boulton added, would give members of the TTF and its National Panel Products Division (NPPD) the opportunity to define the extent to which problems exist, set priorities and draw up a timetable for action.
“We want to see the following outcomes: improved quality of product information; improved confidence in the market; and, most importantly, improved status for TTF members.”
The review will be steered by the NPPD, under a newly-appointed independent chairman.
The Responsible Purchasing Process (RPP) has been a central point of TTF membership for some time now but is now being overhauled following a survey of the members.
“There was a lot of polarization of opinion around the current RPP system,” said Mike Worrell, head of policy and sustainability. Criticisms included that the tools that were used for RPP were too numerous, they were out of date and they were subject to misinterpretation or to inconsistent interpretation. As a result, said Mr Worrell, these will be streamlined.
The auditing and reporting processes will also be “stripped back, rewritten and refined” in order to cut down on “discrepancies in approach”.
“Our end goal with RPP is sustainability, but at the moment we’re trying to ensure that everyone has the tools, confidence and ability to meet the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR),” said Mr Worrell.
The TTF has established a steering group through its Forests Forever committee, which will scrutinise the new tools and processes at its next meeting in September. A major programme of training and “re-education” will follow until the end of the year and the new-look RPP will be rolled out on January 1, 2017.
The fourth project will be product marketing and education in the market and will include a revamping of the TTF website to make it much easier to navigate and which will enable potential buyers to connect to sellers.
“There will be much more interactive, educative material on the website and [material] we can take out to use in exactly the same way as the sustainable timber procurement module. Again we are gong to be looking for volunteers to host that, particularly at merchant level,” said Mr Hopkins
