Members of The Timber Trade Federation (TTF) who deal with Indonesian plywood have dug deep into their own pockets to fund a scoping study into the feasibilty of setting up third party auditing of 10 Indonesian mills.

The move follows publication of the TTF’s 10-point action plan to promote legal and sustainable timber from Indonesia. The study will be carried out by the non-profit making Tropical Forest Trust which will investigate the current and future state of legality of existing and potential mills supplying the UK market.

Ten mills have been identified in three regions and the intention is to quantify how much timber they can currently verify as legal and to which countries it is being sold.

The aim is to identify which mills have the ability to reach sustainability in the future and so meet UK market needs in terms of legality in the short term and certified sustainable timber – FSC or its equivalent – in the long term.

TTF deputy director-general Jean Rennie said: “Those members who have joined this initiative should be proud of themselves for putting their money where their mouth is.

&#8220This is a huge step forward for the industry – it shows we are not walking away from the Indonesian plywood situation. The TTF has hit the ground running on this issue and we should have a report with us by the end of September”

TTF deputy director general Jean Rennie

“Finance for the scoping study is not coming out of The Federation budget, it is coming out of the pockets of members with an interest in Indonesian plywood. For those who have benefited from Indonesian plywood, this is a way they can put something back.

“This is a huge step forward for the industry – it shows we are not walking away from the Indonesian plywood situation. The TTF has hit the ground running on this issue and we should have a report with us by the end of September.”