Writing this article came at a time when there was plenty to celebrate at B&Q UK. After 20 years of robust campaigning with other stakeholders, in February 2011 we reached a major milestone by fully completing the transformation of our timber supply chain, to become the first retailer in the UK to source 100% of our entire range of timber products from proven well-managed forests or recycled sources.

We currently have one of the largest chains of custody certifications under both the Forest Stewardship Council and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes.

For the majority of readers of this trade journal this is not first time news as they will have been aware of our campaigning over the years, and there’s been plenty of positive media about it. Previous Wood Futures articles have advocated well the need for retailers to source responsibly and to focus on changing consumer perceptions and buying habits, and to respond to changing needs and expectations in the market in order to meet consumer demands, as well as keep up with supply and compete with peers.

During the six years since I joined B&Q’s journey towards sustainable timber sourcing, I have realised that things are ever evolving and that the journey has no fixed end point. Having reached the sustainable sourcing milestone in February, we realised a need to focus more closely on the other end of the supply chain: our direct contact and relationship with customers as end users of products. We have potentially much influence here to raise awareness of the issues, change perceptions and buying habits, as well as promote the ethic of DIY among a new generation of customers in, what has become known as, a throwaway society.

Customer perspective

A recent survey commissioned by B&Q revealed that the majority of the nation assumes that all the timber they buy is legal and won’t be contributing to the destruction of the world’s forests. Eighty-nine per cent also reported that they are unclear as to what the term “responsibly sourced timber” actually means. The survey of 2,000 consumers found that despite the average home in the UK having an average of 27 wooden items, most homeowners were completely unaware as to where the products had come from.

However, we also know that we have a new generation of people who are highly environmentally aware, and who want affordable eco-products and services they can trust.

Future opportunities and challenges

Sustainable forestry has moved on considerably over the 20 years since we started on our journey; more and more forests have been certified, more schemes have been created, which increases competition and continues to improve standards. Methods of tracking wood through the supply chain have evolved and improved and schemes have been developed to help foresters access global markets for certified wood, while they take the necessary improvement steps. In some areas rates of deforestation have reversed and at the consumer end awareness and demand has grown.

However, we’re still losing forests at an unsustainable rate and sales of illegal timber still boom.

We know that as a responsible retailer we can do much to meet changing customer expectations. In doing this, we recognise too the issues of continued availability and continuity of supply of certified wood as market conditions change; for example in the UK and EU in anticipation of the much welcomed EU Timber Regulation.

Supply challenges

One of the challenges of educating customers is that demand will rise and there just isn’t enough sustainable timber to meet this. We are already experiencing difficulties, as was highlighted at the WWF conference and roundtable discussions, when there were probably more questions raised than could be answered. However, we need to work effectively with industry experts, NGOs, suppliers and other stakeholders to understand and find solutions to these problems.

B&Q, along with other retailers, needs to continue to work together with suppliers and independent regulators to effectively manage our supply chain and ensure full transparency.

In our case, we are working on ways to positively engage consumers to improve understanding of timber issues and encourage them to buy only sustainable timber products. We will do this through our community engagement programmes, designated on-line and in-store messaging, as well as through employee training at store level.