A growing number of companies across the world are committing to buying timber only from well-managed and legally operating forests, according to the WWF.
Australia’s largest hardware retailer, Bunnings, has pledged to stop buying tropical timbers which stem from forest destruction in Melanesia and Asia. It says it will track and identify all sources of timber supply from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Indonesia and other sources, with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification its preferred option
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, 35 companies have launched a campaign to promote FSC-certified products to consumer and local authorities. Campaign sponsors include DIY chains, timber traders and garden furniture retailers.
Tembec won FSC certification for two million ha of forests it manages in Canada – one of the largest certified forest areas in the world – while Switzerland is supporting a three-year pioneering certification scheme in Vietnam.
IKEA is working with the WWF to support an anti-poaching brigade on the China-Russian border to control illegal logging and the certification of community forests is being promoted in Latin America and the Caribbean with the support of WWF Sweden and Sweden’s international development co-operation agency.
