Local authorites lag on green procurement

Only 16 out of 433 UK local authorites have a fully implemented and monitored environmental timber procurement policy.

This was among the key findings of an online survey conducted by the WWF in December, with results independently analysed by environmental consultancy Proforest.

The full survey is yet to be released but some headline figures were revealed at a seminar in Lambeth Palace on sustainable forest management in the Congo Basin, an event attended by representatives of timber companies and NGOs from the region as part of the WWF’s “Forest Witness” initiative.

Sofie Nielsen of Proforest said that 124 local authorities, around 30% of the total, took part in the survey. “Of these, 71 said they had a procurement policy in place,” she said. “Other respondents said they either didn’t have, or didn’t know.”

The responses were assessed under a five-tier rating system, going from red for authorities which had no policy, to green for those which had one implemented and monitored across their organisation.

“Only 16 made it into the green category,” said Ms Nielsen.

She added that 25% of authorities which did have a policy did not monitor it.

Proforest manages Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) which advises government on timber procurement policy and assesses which environmental certification schemes satisfy it as proof of timber legality and sustainability. The government would like local authorities to follow CPET guidelines, but they are free to set their own.

According to the WWF, local government accounts for about 20% of all timber purchases in the UK, the same as central government.

Commenting on the survey, Timber Trade Federation chief executive John White said The Federation had worked with WWF on the issue in the past and shared its concern “that local government did not put in place and, crucially, enforce rebust and credible timber procurement policies”.

“Our members are also frustrated by differing approaches at different authorities,” he said, adding that they could support local government on the issue and give “assurances via the TTF Responsible Purchasing Policy on non-certified timber”.

The WWF survey was conducted under its “What wood you choose” campaign which promotes legal and sustainable timber purchasing in the private and public sector. Under the same initiative, local authorities have been invited to improve procurement strategies to bronze, silver or gold standard. So far 51 have signed up; 31 to the bronze level, 14 silver and six gold. The first to implement the top standard is Durham.