Grown in Britain – a sustainable plan

Major UK contractors have formed a group to look at how they will support the Grown in Britain campaign, which will have implications for all.

At the start of this year, the government issued the Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement which incorporated its responses to each recommendation made by the Independent Panel on Forestry. One of the recommendations called for the development of a Wood Industry Action Plan. It announced that this new Wood industry Action Plan, would be called Grown in Britain and fall under the energetic leadership of Dr Peter Bonfield, chief executive of the BRE.

A few days later I was tracked down by Peter's very efficient PA and invited for a coffee, where he laid out his vision for Grown in Britain. Peter was assembling a panel of key leaders from each of the demand sectors and wood culture organisations, and he invited me to join the panel representing the contractors, and lead a task group with my industry colleagues.

This was an opportunity to be grasped - a truly sustainable plan, for the most sustainable resource known to man with everything going for it.

Whilst the important thing to remember is that all wood is good, procuring more timber which is "Grown in Britain" has the potential to provide enormous benefits. It can create jobs, support rural communities and increase green growth. More demand for British timber will provide investment to the UK timber and forestry industry, stimulate funds to plant more trees, and encourage more private woodlands into management which will increase biodiversity, act as a carbon sink and help reduce the risks from pests and diseases.

So I approached my industry colleagues and this vision was quickly grasped by seven more leading contractors. Together we formed a group to create a new and stronger market pull for the array of products derived from British woodlands and forests: easy, we thought.

Our first Contractors' Task Group meeting was in April, and to start the ball rolling, we invited Ed Suttie, of the BRE and Dougal Driver from Confor. As we went round the table doing our introductions, Dougal said something rather profound; "Everything in my working life has been in preparation for this meeting". We knew this was not going to be an ordinary meeting.

By the end of the afternoon we had learned a lot: about under-investment; the decades of neglect and lack of woodland management; how our requirement for certified timber can actually be a barrier to market for UK small woodland owners; why bent trees are good for building ships; how sometimes unintended specification limits the use of home-grown timber; and how the hardwood sector struggles to compete on quality, price and volume.

At this point we could have just thrown in the towel, but actually this just reinforced to each of us in the Contractors' Task Group why the aims of Grown in Britain are so important. The construction sector is a high-value market and the largest consumer of timber and timber products; the task group is currently in discussion with other members of the UK Contractors Group for wider support for Grown in Britain.

To enable contractors to procure timber which is "Grown in Britain" will require suppliers and manufacturers to change the way in which their products are presented to the market. A small increase in the amount of British timber consumed will bring significant benefits which will provide a more sustainable future for our woodlands and forests.