Following a presentation on the economic and environmental merits of wood packaging to members of the Scottish parliament this week, the Timber Packaging & Pallet Confederation (Timcon) is planning similar initiatives to target English and Welsh politicians.
The event at the Scottish parliament building attracted nine MSPs, including shadow minister for the environment Nanette Milne. In addition, TIMCON sent information packs to all 122 MSPs.
TIMCON president John Dye told the meeting that the wood packaging industry “provides a critical market for the Scottish forest products sector”.
Wood, he added, is also a “positive contributor towards combating climate change”.
“Each wooden pallet used saves 27kg of carbon [while] other packaging materials add significantly to the carbon footprint of a business,” he said.
South of Scotland MSP Jim Hume, who hosted the event, said that the Scottish wood packaging sector “employed 8,000 people directly and 30,000 indirectly”.
Mr Dye said that the scale of the Scottish timber sector made it logical to hold the first TIMCON parliamentary event in Edinburgh, but “plans for further events at Westminster and the Welsh Assembly” were moving ahead.
