Continental European timber industry programmes to advance the case for wood use are leaving the UK behind, according to Timber Trade Federation (TTF) chief executive John White.
In his web blog on www.ttf.co.uk, Mr White said he was struck by the impressive activities in Europe while attending the recent Cei-Bois general assembly.
He singled out the Building with Wood programme, led by Austria for CEI-Bois members.
“Attracting hundreds of thousands of euros from businesses, organisations and the EU, they have produced and tested innovative products to address some of the barriers to greater wood use.”
The Austrians have proposed another round of work over the next few years covering carbon efficiency, eurocodes, and the long-term performance of timber and wood products.
Mr White said the UK timber industry should dream of similar activities, despite not currently having the resources that exist in Europe.
“By working together around common themes we can at least get some energy out of the resources we do have,” he added.
Mr White said his meetings with industry colleagues to develop the next stage of the Wood for Good campaign had convinced him that genuine supply chain co-operation around some of the key issues faced by the industry was possible.
He proposed a virtual Wood Industry Council that shares collective intelligence about the issues and how the industry might address them.
