Cut duplication, join up thinking

This call came through loud and clear again at the ProTimber summit, held on the eve of Timber Expo last month. The conference was based on studies by consultancy Lychgate into perceptions of timber among architects and contractors. Its tagline, "one vision, one voice", gave away their conclusion.

Many UK architects, Lychgate said, have been won round to timber and are starting to realise its potential - witness the high-rise cross-laminated timber blocks now towering on the London skyline. But, as we reported after the conference, and Gary Ramsey covers more fully in this edition - and not forgetting Keith Fryer's passionate endorsement of its findings in last week's TTJ - the ProTimber research came back to that theme: in the face of stiff competition, continuing misconceptions about timber, and perceived complexity of specifying, sourcing and using it in some quarters, notably among contractors, this industry needs to take concerted promotional and educational action.

However, what is encouraging - and ProTimber also underlined - is that, after many a false dawn, it looks as though the timber sector is starting to do just that. The event was backed by a pan-industry trade body group and these same organisations have also recently signed the Timber Industry Accord to boost collaboration and cut duplicated effort.

Wood for Good's Wood First campaign, to encourage a preference for timber in planning guidelines, is also gathering cross-sector support and momentum.

Giving cause for still greater optimism is that industry co-ordination and promotion now look set to go increasingly pan-European.

At last week's International Softwood Conference (ISC) European Wood Initiative chairman Jan Söderlind fleshed out the bones of the European Wood Promotion (EWP) initiative. First proposed at the 2011 ISC, the project aims to encourage cross-fertilisation between wood marketing programmes across Europe. It is steered by the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF), European Sawmillers Organisation and the national campaigns themselves and will, in particular, co-ordinate messages promoting wood as a modern building material and its "CO2 and sustainable forest management benefits". The EWP has also appointed a marketing agency to create a 'toolbox' of promotional ideas and concepts which different national campaigns can adopt, due for release soon. This, said Mr Söderlind, would "cut duplication of effort and use cross-national synergies to deliver common messages to European decision makers".

ETTF secretary-general André de Boer discussed further international co-operation in his presentation on the upcoming anti-illegal wood EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). He updated delegates on developments in the ETTF's strategy to help harmonise EUTR due diligence illegal timber risk assessment across the EU. This comprises an ETTF due diligence system for individual companies and a programme to ensure co-ordination between existing systems set up by national federations, like the TTF's Responsible Purchasing Policy. The aim, said Mr de Boer, is not just to help European companies comply with the EUTR, but ensure suppliers to the EU do not have to deal with wildly differing risk assessment procedures in different countries.