Ready to benefit from the EUTR

And as the very presence of an EUTR clock indicates, the anti-illegal timber measure coming in on March 3 is a big deal - arguably the most important legislation the industry has faced in living memory.

To summarise, the Regulation means companies it calls 'operators', which first place timber and wood products on the EU market, must undertake due diligence risk assessment of all suppliers to minimise the danger of illegal material getting into the supply chain. Their customers, termed 'traders', must then record what they bought and who they sold it to.

Failure to comply will trigger more than a slap on the wrist. For 'operators', conviction in a Magistrates' Court could result in three months in jail, while Crown Court sentences are up to two years. Both 'operators' and 'traders' will also face other penalties, including fines up to £5,000, possibly per product.

Preparation for the EUTR has not all been sweetness and light. Some saw it as another layer of EU bureaucracy, duplicating measures companies already had in place. The EU has also been slow in disseminating some key information and arrangements for implementing and policing the law. Indeed, the National Measurement Office (NMO), which will enforce the EUTR in the UK, said not long before Christmas that it wished it had reached its then state of preparedness a year earlier.

Even now, with the Regulation still yet to be made UK law, there are outstanding concerns. Will the bureaucracy be an undue burden on 'operators', and will all suppliers be able to handle the due diligence paperwork? Is the legislation likely to make the trade overly risk averse, dropping certain species and areas of supply as a knee-jerk reaction? Will breaches be used as a stick to beat the industry on its eco-performance, when rival material sectors face nothing like this level of environmental control? And, of course, will all EU countries implement the Regulation equally assiduously, or will the UK continue its tradition of gold-plating EU law, while others take a more relaxed stance?

But, judging by views in our EUTR focus, it does look like the UK industry has girded its loins well for this ground-breaking legislation. The NMO says there are still pockets of awareness deficiency. But overall, the trade is as well-prepared as any of its EU counterparts, and probably better than many.

The TTF has had its Responsible Purchasing Policy (RPP) due diligence system in place for years and closely aligned it to the EUTR to ensure members comply. Others are confident in their ability to go the DIY due diligence route, or have turned to the UK's rising number of external consultancies and other support operations for help.

WWF UK and British Standards have produced readily digestible guidance too, and, reassuringly, the NMO says it is also gearing to help companies comply with the EUTR, rather than notch up prosecutions.

So, while implementation of the EUTR won't be a pain-free process, long term the industry should be able to concentrate on maximising the PR benefits.

It will show the sector doing its utmost to combat illegal timber and, as American Hardwood Export Council European director David Venables says, enable it to move the debate on to sustainability, where timber trounces the competition.