When the UK government began to consider how it should implement its commitment to source all wood and wood products for central government from legal and sustainable sources, it quickly became apparent that it would not always be straightforward.

Therefore, one of the recommendations of the 2002 feasibility study carried out on behalf of the government by international “all-environmental” consultancy Environmental Resources Management (ERM) was that a Central Point of Expertise in Timber (CPET) should be established to provide government procurement officers with information and advice.

So, what is the UK government’s timber procurement policy? In early 2004, a guidance note was issued setting out the government’s minimum requirements for products made from virgin timber:

  • Legal sources: it is a condition of contract for anyone supplying wood or wood products to central government departments that the source must be legal and that there is verifiable proof to confirm this.

  • Sustainable sources: organisations tendering for business have the option of meeting a “variant specification” which requires that material is from sustainable sources. Offers meeting this variant specification are given priority over tenders that meet only the minimum legal requirements. Again, verifiable evidence is required.

    • So, anyone supplying wood or wood products to central government, from office paper to timber, must ensure that the material they supply is, at a minimum, from a legal source.

    The government has identified two types of evidence of compliance with these requirements, referred to as Category A and Category B.

  • Category A evidence is independent certification of the material under a certification scheme which delivers the UK government requirements.

  • Category B evidence is all other forms, such as audit statements, government documentation or supplier declarations.

    In both cases, the government has to decide whether the evidence supplied in a particular case is acceptable.

    • The first task was to assess the five most widely used certification schemes to see which were adequate to provide Category A evidence. Therefore, in early 2004, although CPET had not yet been set up as an organisation, the government invited tenders to undertake the assessment, awarding it eventually to ProForest and ERM.

    The two operations began by developing a set of criteria, based on the UK government contract and variant specification, against which schemes could be assessed. The development process involved review and input from a number of government departments, the CPET Reference Board which comprised DEFRA, the Timber Trade Federation and WWF UK, and from the five certification schemes themselves – CSA, FSC, MTCC, PEFC and SFI.

    Once finalised, the criteria were used to assess the five selected schemes. Again the assessment results were reviewed by the government, the schemes themselves and the CPET Reference Board. The results, which have been published in full by DEFRA, are summarised in the box.

    The full CPET help service is planned to be up and running by the autumn. In the interim, the UK government has commissioned a pilot project which is being run by ProForest and involves eight government departments. The aim is to provide support while also collecting information to guide the terms of reference for the full CPET organisation.

    DEFRA expects to be inviting tenders from potential providers of the service this spring. The terms of reference will be finalised based on experience of the pilot project, but it is envisaged that the main tasks will be:

  • Provision of ongoing help and support to government procurement officers through a telephone and e-mail helpline.

  • Development of procedures on how to assess Category B evidence.

  • Development of guidance to procurement officers and suppliers including a website.

  • Review of assessments of certification schemes.

    Active consideration is also being given to making CPET available to the industry so that those supplying government can get advice directly on how to meet requirements.