Grown in Britain buzz is building

The table centres at the Awards were different. They were wood in the raw; mini native ash boules from English Woodlands Timber, with their boards painstakingly stacked on tiny 'sticks' by the company's unquenchable wood enthusiast Sarah Farmer.

These were meant, partly, to be a bit of fun. But when guests de-sticked them, they found they also told an important story for UK timber. Each slice of ash bore the Union Jack tree brand of the Grown in Britain campaign.

This promotional and strategic initiative grew from the conclusions of the Independent Panel on Forestry, which was convened by the government to come up with strategies for the future of UK woodland after mass public protests killed plans to sell the Forestry Commission estate. A key recommendation was that maintenance and expansion of our forests should be underpinned by more widespread and varied use of its environmentally-soundly produced timber. This prompted government and industry discussion, and ultimately the presentation to Defra of the Grown in Britain concept by Confor chief executive Stuart Goodall and BRE chief executive Dr Peter Bonfield. The campaign won approval and has built momentum ever since under Dr Bonfield's energetic direction.

Grown in Britain's message is simple. Using home-grown timber benefits British woodland, which benefits the environment and helps us on the way to a low carbon economy.

The campaign was designed to be short and sharp to maximise support and generate intensity. In fact, having only officially launched this spring, it will unveil its key outcomes in "Grown in Britain Week" from October 14-20. And it's clearly done the trick. Even before it delivers its final report, it's obvious the splash it's made will create wide and significant ripples into the future.

First it has gathered a broad support base, enthused by its focus on the symbiotic link between commercial timber production and woodland development. This not only covers timber companies and industry organisations, but also NGOs and, particularly impressively, blue chip construction end users, including Skanska, Lend Lease and McAlpine.

It has also secured media coverage. In fact this week, while the American Hardwood Export Council garnered column inches for its hi-tech Endless Stair tulipwood CLT project, Grown in Britain was also glowingly covered in a Daily Telegraph article headlined "The Beauty of British Wood".

It should not be inferred from the latter, however, that the campaign is about promoting British timber at the expense of material from other sources. In fact, by helping heal the disconnect that persists in UK public perception between sustainable forestry and timber harvesting and use - perhaps because so few of us have much direct contact with modern, renewable wood production - it will boost the image of our sector and its products overall, from English oak and modified MDF to tropical hardwood. The end result in the years ahead should be a timber industry with greater buzz and buoyancy still.