TimberNews 4.02-engelsk - SCA Forest Products AB

Ron Cohenis Managing Director of the STPGroup which produces threequartersof a million timberwindows and doors for the UKmarket per annum.His greatest problem is findingcertified sources of supply whichoffer the particular dimensionsused by his factories’ productionprocesses. “To make it feasiblefor us to undertake FSC chain-ofcustodycertification we wouldneed a guaranteed and continuoussource of FSC-certified materialwhich conforms to our manufacturingneeds. At the momentneither the range of suppliersnor the range of products areavailable to enable us to producecertified products.”Andrew Howarthis Managing Director of one ofthe UK’s major timber players- Howarth (Timber Importers) Ltd:“There is a market for FSCcertifiedproducts but from ourviewpoint it’s not very large. Wehave FSC chain-of-custody certificationbut unfortunately it is sorelyunder-used. We do receive requestsfor FSC-certified material but it’susually at the behest of the enduser of the product. An examplewould be when we’re asked toprovide timber to a manufacturerproducing items for one of thelarge DIY companies. In the pastthere have been supply problemsin getting hold of certified timber.With the emergence of the PanEuropean Forest Certificationscheme (PEFC) the availability oftimber which carries an environmentalsustainability certificatehas obviously increased, thoughwe’re aware that chain of custodycan be an issue.”The British Woodworking Federation,representing £1080 million(55%) of the UK’s annual joinerysales, also includes sustainabletimber purchasing in its membershipcode. By the end of 2004, alltimber used in BWF AccreditedTimber Windows must also befrom certified sustainable sources.The timber window market in theUK alone was worth £255 millionlast year, with three million unitsbeing produced. Timber windowsrepresent just one area in whichthere has been co-operation betweenindustry and environmentalists.Greenpeace UK’s campaignagainst the toxic waste producedby the manufacture and abandonmentof PVC-u windows hasemphasised the benefits of windowsmade from sustainabletimber.Government, local and national,is also becoming more aware oftimber ’s qualities as a sustainablematerial. The UK Government’sGreen Procurement policies specifythat timber should comefrom sustainable sources and thatdocumentary evidence of the sourcingchain should be provided.Central government though stillhas a long way to go, with onlyseven of the 21 British governmentdepartments able to reporton the status of their certified sustainabletimber purchasing lastyear. Beck Woodrow, in charge ofFSC-UK’s Sustainable Constructioninitiative, comments: “Thegreatest problems are lack ofknowledge of what constitutes‘sustainable timber ’ and the difficultyin verifying timber sources asbeing sustainable or well-managed.FSC certification addresses boththese problems, by tracking timberback to its source. Its Chain ofCustody system provides assurancethat the material originatesin responsibly managed forests.We are working with WWF to getthe message across to the rightquarters in the public sector, andacross the construction industry asa whole. I believe we’re makingprogress.”In local government, the understandingof sustainable procurementissues is higher, partlybecause of the implementationof Local Agenda 21 plans, andpartly because of the gradualspread of environmental managementsystems, similar to thoseused in many private and publiccompanies in the UK. There areover 450 local authorities, rangingfrom councils responsible for largecities to small district councils. Inthose where environmental managementsystems demand continuousimprovements againsttargets, the need to purchasetimber with a creditable audittrail right back to the forest isparamount.Some councils have studied forestcertification systems in depth andhave publicly stated that until asystem with a similar audit trailand similar environmental credentialsis in existence, their councilwill only purchase timber productswhich are FSC-certified. City anddistrict councils between themrepair and maintain millions ofbuildings requiring timber forboth structural and joinery purposes.One of the smaller localdistrict councils recently interviewedby SCA Timber UK had anew-build budget of £85 millionthis year, and for one projectalone required £1 million worthof FSC-certified timber rangingfrom structural components tojoinery timber, and includinghundreds of timber doors andwindows.For the last seven years, theWWF 95+ Group has been growingin size and strength. This groupingof purchasers, with buying interestsranging from paper to timberand operations spanning retailingto manufacturing, now includessome of the UK’s most famouscorporate names. Builders LaingHomes, Bovis and Balfour Beattyare members, as are Boots, the BodyShop, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.Timber users such as Magnet,Richard Burbidge and F W Masontimbernews | 4