Andy Roby, The Timber Trade Federation’s former head of environment and now a UK government consultant in Indonesia, has taken issue with an article in the Jakarta Post which suggests builders should use steel instead of timber to save trees.
Mr Roby had a letter published in the newspaper following the April 29 article about green architecture, which praised steel and said “wood has gradually begun to be replaced by light steel and aluminium in an effort to translate into reality the concept of green building”.
Mr Roby wrote that he was “appalled” at the article. He said green architects should not switch to steel but specify certified sustainable or verified legal timber.
He said such timber was the trend in Europe and North America for meeting green building requirements.
“In addition, specifying such timber provides the market incentives progressive Indonesian companies are crying out for, and will go a lot further to save this planet than using finite resources such as steel and aluminium.”
