TTJ will shortly feature a report on the positive news that the wood. for good campaign, now in its sixth year, continues to deliver. In 2005 alone our activities have already been seen or heard by more than 4 million homeowners and many tens of thousands of architects, engineers and other construction professionals.
Our primary role is very much about keeping wood uppermost in the minds of key decision makers and providing them with convincing arguments for why they should specify wood. This has increasingly meant promoting wood’s sustainability credentials and we know from our work that both specifiers and clients are becoming increasingly receptive to this message.
We recently commissioned TRADA to look at how the whole timber industry can benefit from the 2012 Olympics. We know that sustainability is going to be a key feature of the 2012 Olympics and that this is where timber can really score – provided of course it comes from sustainably managed forests and is certified. There will, rightly, be no room for companies that cannot vouch for the provenance of the timber they supply.
One particular observation in the study is that the timber industry is more likely to benefit from the legacy projects than it is from the main facilities construction and it may be prudent to focus our resources on this aspect rather than concentrate on the headline venue contracts. An interesting point too is that we appear to be ahead of the game as, according to the various designers interviewed, there is little evidence of other material sectors having established a concerted promotional strategy.
By working as a team, setting clear objectives and deploying members of the industry best qualified to present timber’s credentials, the opportunities for the whole wood supply chain can be maximised. We also have the chance, via the Olympics, to embed a truly sustainable wood culture in the UK. This is, perhaps, the greater prize towards which we should be striving.
