B&Q plc is to phase out Finnish certified timber in a move towards an FSC-only supply policy.
The DIY chain confirmed that from December 1 it would only accept FSC supplies or timber from suppliers working towards FSC.
B&Q spokesperson Lorian Coutts said: “We have been a great supporter of the Finnish Forest Certification System (FFCS). What we are saying is we are going down the FSC route.
“This is something we have been discussing for quite some time and have included our suppliers [in discussions]. We will agree an exit policy over a three- to five-year period.”
B&Q said it believes FSC can meet volumes required, but added it was looking at sources around the world and was talking to the Tropical Forest Trust in Malaysia.
FFCS was savaged this week in a report by Greenpeace, The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (FANC) and the Finnish Nature League, which said hundreds of forest species face extinction unless FFCS is revised.
However, FFCS general secretary Auvo Kaivola said major changes were approved last September. “They [the critics] have included many pieces of information they have made before and have tried to show that the FANC did not agree the standards originally.”
