Danish government implements responsible procurement

Until now there was a voluntary requirement for responsible purchasing which applied to about 25% of the government's procurement of timber, furniture and paper.

"The voluntary procurement guide was a good guide, but now the government will lead the way and speed up the process of ensuring procurement of responsible wood and timber," said environment minister Ida Auken. "It will get more and more companies thinking about having responsible goods as part of their product range as the government and its institutions are a major customer."

The new policy does not apply to wood fuel and the voluntary scheme will continue to apply for municipalities, regions and other public institutions. Guidelines for those institutions will be updated by next spring.