The green light has been given for the body which will advise on whether timber and forestry certification schemes satisfy government criteria on proof of legality or sustainability.
The Central Point of Expertise on Timber Procurement (CPET) is a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) initiative. It was first mooted earlier this year, but in November it was reported that further developments would be delayed until 2004.
However, this week it was announced that the tendering process is being launched to select the organisation that will act as the CPET. At least half a dozen bodies are expected to put in bids, mainly commercial environmental consultancies.
“We will go to market with the tendering process after Christmas, hoping to come to a selection decision by the end of January,” said DEFRA officer Bob Andrew.
The government says it will not limit timber procurement to material that can be proven to meet its criteria as “sustainable”. The latter will ultimately be the preference, but procurement officers will also have the option of “legal” timber and material from forestry progressing from “legal to sustainable”. This is to avoid penalising “poor countries without the means to manage their forests as the developed world would like”.
The CPET’s first task will be to refine and clarify government procurement criteria where necessary. It will then evaluate timber and forestry certification against the criteria.
The CPET is intended initially to offer certification advice to central government procurement officers. But its website is expected to be open access and eventually there may also be a phone helpline.
The operation will be accountable to a management board comprising UK “stakeholders”, including industry and NGO representatives.
