Accreditation gives stamp of approval

The greatly increased interest in the tropical timber debate demonstrates how imperative it is for the timber industry to communicate with other sectors and audiences. Although debate stemmed from within the timber industry, it quickly evolved and spread into wider environmental circles. Timber swiftly became a more prominent feature on the wider business radar and, before long, illegal logging and tropical timber became of national interest, worthy of in-depth features in newspapers. All this, of course, was preceded by the mass public support that resulted in a parliamentary rethink on the future of UK forests.

While each issue may not have a direct impact on individual timber players, an insular outlook would be a huge downfall for any timber business. Environmental awareness in the business world is an increasingly important consideration. As an industry, we had a head start. The deforestation of the rainforests was a major factor in propelling the environmental credentials of a product to the attention of consumers worldwide. Perhaps consumer pressure was the original cause for producers and manufacturers to green their processes but the more effective force comes from within the business arena. Investors now assess sustainable credentials to measure the sustainability of a company’s growth, profit and future success. Sustainability is no longer simply about having a product that does not end up in landfill.

I have long promoted the benefits of holistic environmental accreditation. We renew cradle to cradle (C2C) certification on an annual basis because it is one of the most comprehensive environmental, globally acknowledged stamps of approval. C2C determines whether companies have a positive impact instead of simply reducing or counteracting a negative one, assesses a product’s design for future life cycles and takes its safety to humans and the environment into serious consideration. The concept is based on the idea of learning from nature, to work towards a sustainable future. It suggests that when manufacturing, industry should safeguard the natural biological environment and enhance ecosystems to produce safe products. I believe that this is the future.

It is for this very reason that we are now trying to support our distributors with further independent environmental research and analysis. Delft University has just completed a life cycle analysis study on our product, Accoya wood, focusing on cradle to gate assessment – the product is assessed from creation, through to particular uses and on to end of life. In this instance, we elected to measure the environmental impact of three applications widely used by our distributors and end users (decking, windows and pedestrian bridges). The findings position Accoya wood as a dramatically more environmentally friendly choice in comparison to aluminium, concrete and PVCu. This is a benefit that distributors and retailers can easily communicate to their buyers and can therefore contribute to the continued success of timber.

Without this approach, Accsys Technologies would not have been able to successfully raise €30m in shares to ensure the expansion of our business. Furthermore, researching, proving and communicating the environmental benefits of timbers, particularly new, hi-tech products such as modified wood, strengthens the reputation and long-term prospects of the timber industry as a whole, and helps to eliminate “green washing”, which does far more harm than good.