Andrew Laver, in his excellent Wood Futures piece, highlights the high aspirations to which The Timber Trade Federation (TTF) is committed. Membership of the organisation is, and should be, a ‘badge of honour’. As he goes on to say, however, this badge retains its validity only if TTF members subscribe to the standards of environmental and business good practice the industry needs to profit in the 21st century.
The TTF Code of Conduct details those standards and embodied within it is a procedure for dealing with those it is alleged fall short. It is not sufficiently used. No-one can be thrown out of the TTF on the basis of allegation alone. Due process must be observed to ensure the credibility of the organisation is maintained. Give me evidence and action will be taken, as it has been in the past.
We also now have in place a requirement that all members implement a robust form of environmental due diligence. If they don’t, they can’t be members of the TTF.
Good companies like Lavers are members of the TTF. With Andrew making his voice heard it helps me and the TTF team get a persuasive message across to those who buy timber – a message that says we provide our customers with the greenest building material known to man, with first class performance and top drawer service levels. The more customers buy from the good companies, the fewer buy from the bad and the less damage they can do to this industry’s reputation.
John White
Chief executive
Timber Trade Federation
