Eyebrows were raised when the Timber Trade Federation (TTF) announced plans to make it mandatory for members to have an environmental due diligence system to minimise the risk of importing illegal wood. But I believe this is essential for the industry’s long-term future.
The profile and attention received by our sector on sustainability issues on the global political scene is very high, with illegal logging, climate change and deforestation dominating debate. As an industry, we have a product that can tick all the environmental boxes, yet we’re jeopardising that by not taking a few simple measures to ensure that we are sourcing our timber responsibly.
As part of our commitment to help members deliver on due diligence requirements, we’ve relaunched our flagship Responsible Purchasing Policy (RPP). This is a risk management tool which helps a company assess products for evidence of legality and sustainability of supply, as well as encouraging suppliers to improve sourcing practices. It is independently audited by the Soil Association, and aims to increase the amount of independently verified legal and sustainable timber entering the UK.
Former TTF presidents John Tong and Neil Donaldson, and current president Kevin Hayes, have been the driving force behind our move towards due diligence and have already made great strides in delivering the message to members and the wider industry. In fact, the whole sector is increasingly aware that it needs to address the issue of timber from illegal sources. But now we need to make sure that we turn good intentions into good practice.
Given the tough economic conditions, there has been some criticism of our timing in making due diligence a mandatory condition of membership. Financial issues will clearly currently be at the forefront of members’ minds, but we would be failing in our duty as a trade federation if we didn’t prepare members for possible future EU legislation on due diligence, which now appears imminent.
And if our industry does not work together to address this problem, then specifiers, architects and other customers will look elsewhere for their raw materials, making a difficult situation even harder. It is in the interests of companies to deal with the issue quickly and effectively – the RPP is a tool that will enable them to do this.
TTF sustainability executive Graham Bruford is responsible for ensuring that the RPP can be easily implemented by helping members through the process. “Due diligence is nothing new, but priorities have changed,” he said. “While many companies already have procedures in place, the TTF’s tool is designed to make it easy to implement for all and provide support to members in carrying out their due diligence commitments.”
To enable companies to highlight they have signed up to the RPP, or a similar audited scheme, the TTF has also launched a new ‘Responsible Purchaser’ logo (above). This can be used in marketing once companies have successfully completed the audit, so prospective customers can easily identify suppliers with an environmental due diligence system in place.
Companies that have not begun environmental due diligence should get moving now, or else, given the changing UK and EU timber market, they may well be wondering in a few years where all their customers have gone.
And, with environmental issues set increasingly to affect all aspects of our life and work, surely this is also an area where we should be leading the way. We are, after all, suppliers of the most environmentally-sound construction material.
