One of the goals of WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) programme is to make responsible forest trade mainstream. Ahead of last year’s GFTN 20th anniversary, we thought about what needs to be done in the UK market to achieve this, especially when many businesses need to meet new obligations and undertake due diligence for timber and timber products in line with the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR).
We felt the need to encourage and help more businesses play their part in ensuring the legality and sustainability of their forest products was clear – and that we should produce some form of guidance for wider business in the UK. The experiences of our GFTN participants with the development of British Standards Institution (BSI) Publicly Available Specifications, or PAS projects, led us to explore whether this solution would be useful.
At the end of 2010, we met BSI, having earlier set up a working group of GFTN participants to debate the focus of the PAS based on their previous experiences. Then we drew up a skeleton framework, and got consultancy New Leaf Sustainability on board, with Charles Drewe as technical author. Once we’d formally engaged BSI, a consultative process was initiated with the establishment of an expert steering group. Participants, which are all listed in the PAS, included the Timber Trade Federation, Wood Panel Industries Federation, Travis Perkins, the Forestry Commission, PEFC UK and FSC UK.
Consequently BSI has now released PAS 2021 – "Exercising due diligence in establishing the legal origin of timber and timber products – Guide to Regulation (EU 995/2010) [EUTR]". WWF has sponsored a licence to enable UK businesses to access PAS 2021 for free – with the download available from the BSI website (http://shop.bsigroup.com/pas2021). PAS 2021 aims to help organisations to:
? understand what the EUTR is;
? understand if they are affected by the Regulation and, if so, how they are affected (ie. if they are operators and/or traders);
? develop and implement a due diligence system to minimise the risk of illegal timber in the supply chain;
? communicate performance of due diligence to interested parties, including regulatory authorities;
? share good practices, tools and frameworks to enable organisations to go beyond compliance in the responsible sourcing of timber and timber products.
A thriving legal timber market, that helps to protect the environment as well as the resources it provides, is the best way to support those investing in sustainable commodities.
PAS 2021 predominantly covers the EUTR’s requirements, but also includes pointers for business in going beyond compliance; to meet customers’ expectations, or to deliver their own sustainability aspirations as an organisation.
We want to make sure that no-one is failing to meet their obligations simply because they could not get guidance. And we’ll be working with others to spread the message and encourage people to access PAS 2021 to make sure they get a good start.
It will take many stakeholders to play their part in making responsible forest trade mainstream. PAS 2021 guidance is another tool to help them do so.
