Green for go

Last year’s inaugural TTJ Environmental Achievement Award went to SCA Timber Supply Ltd for its work helping customers, especially small- to medium-sized businesses, to implement environmental certification chain of custody.

Both the launch of the Award and the nature of the winning entry underlined the advances the timber trade has made on environmental issues in the past decade.

It was in the mid-90s that the environmentalist non-governmental organisations really stepped up protests against what they considered unsustainable forestry and timber production. In the UK, traders were targeted by demonstrators who raided their premises and snatched alleged “illegally sourced” timber.

Today there are still environmental activists tarring the wider timber sector with the same brush as the illegal loggers and rogue traders everyone agrees need to be eliminated. But that aside, the picture has changed radically.

Certification

Undoubtedly the most dramatic development has been the spread of environmental certification and associated chain of custody verification. We have the ongoing debate on the merits of the various certification schemes, but unbiased observers acknowledge that the industry’s commitment to getting certified is a tremendous advance. From virtually a standing start 10 years ago, the major schemes are reported today to cover around 200 million ha of productive forest worldwide, and growing. In the UK, more timber companies implement certification each year and there are now literally hundreds of certified timber and wood products on the market. Critically, the government has also acknowledged the progress made by the industry and, guided by its Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET), now recognises the FSC, PEFC, SFI and CSA schemes as proof of timber’s sustainability and legality and the Malaysian MTCC scheme as proof of legality.

Underscoring the UK industry’s environmental commitment, The Timber Trade Federation also has its own environmental Code of Practice and Responsible Purchasing Policy (RPP), complementing certification to help members source from sustainably managed forests.

And as far as improving eco performance is concerned, certification is not the end of the story. As one trader recently said, the timber sector is taking an increasingly “holistic” approach on the environment. It’s making maximum use of raw material, with efficient new processing technology and the transformation of what would previously have been considered waste by-product into usable material through such processes as finger-jointing and lamination. Major strides have been made too in waste reduction and use of by-products to generate heat and power in modern, energy-efficient incineration systems. Another environmental success story has been the development and increasing take-up of more user and planet-friendly, low- or zero-emission timber treatments and finishes.

Raising awareness

But the timber trade still clearly cannot afford to relax on the environment. And it is generally agreed that as important as further measures to improve actual environmental performance is action to raise awareness of the advances the industry has already made.

As Mark Plews, managing director of Environmental Achievement Award sponsor UCM Timber plc, said: “The environment is firmly on the political agenda, so it’s critical that we demonstrate we are addressing the issues. In the past some businesses may have been environmentally irresponsible. But we’ve made great strides and are now far more aware. We need to demonstrate this by, for instance, supporting the RPP and backing the TTF’s liaison with government.”

The point was reinforced by UCM’s Scott Bagshaw, one of the Award judges: “Increasing media coverage and the electoral importance of issues such as climate change, recycling, renewable energy, waste disposal and correct use of natural resources mean that the emphasis on timber produced with sound environmental credentials will become ever more important.”

The TTJ Environmental Achievement Award itself is also designed to highlight as well as recognise and reward the improvement the timber sector has made in all aspects of environmental performance; an area that was once its Achilles heel and now potentially constitutes its biggest single marketing advantage.