Within three years time there will be sectors of the market that merchants won’t be able to sell to unless they can prove their timber is from legal and sustainable sources. That was the message delivered to London Softwood Club members by Ian Goldsmith, group planning director of Travis Perkins plc at the club’s second environmental forum, held last week.
“We’ve had some good experiences with a number of suppliers who’ve come a long way with certified timber,” he said, but added that there was still much work to be done in establishing iron clad chain of custody throughout the timber industry. “You have to have a target of 100% traceability. You have to know where your timber is from in order to ensure it’s legal.”
Kari Airaksinen, environmental manager of Stora Enso Oy’s Baltic operations described his company’s timber procurement policies. “The universal goal throughout all Stora Enso’s operations is the full documentation of the origin of fibre,” he said. This documentation, he added, included a system of Stora Enso and third party audits – 190 in a year in the Baltic area alone.
Bob Andrew, procurement policy adviser of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, outlined the government stance on timber sourcing and informed delegates that the EU is currently considering introducing a regulation enabling countries to turn away illegal timber.
He also said that government had define the term “legal timber” more precisely and that DEFRA hoped to be able to offer new guidance on that soon. He also said the department was considering setting up “a central point of expertise” to address the fact that “too many buyers know too little about timber”.
