The East Anglian Timber Trade Association is organising a seminar and exhibition to raise awareness of timber’s superior environmental credentials in the construction sector.

At the EATTA annual dinner at King’s College, Cambridge last week, chairman Graham Skillen urged association members to support the October 20 event.

Entitled “Specifying Wood for the Environment”, the seminar will take place at the Holiday Inn, Histon, near Cambridge and will feature presentations on CE product marking, forest certification schemes and timber products in construction.

Mr Skillen said the industry must step up its education and promotional effort to highlight timber’s environmental advantages over other materials.

“It was depressing that a prize-winning garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show was praised for its use of recycled polystyrene!” he said. “We really must make sure the public knows the facts and that there can never be an environmental case for replacing timber with plastic!”

TTF president Geoff Rhodes also highlighted environmental issues in his address. The TTF, he said, was revising its Forests Forever environmental purchasing policy.

“This work is being done in conjunction with the development of the public sector’s timber procurement policy,” he said. “It is hoped that any company that signs up to the new policy will be able to pass whatever procurement criteria is finally decided by the government, opening the way to obtain public sector contracts.”

Mr Rhodes also focused on the TTF’s recent efforts to deal with environmental concerns over timber and wood product imports from Indonesia.

“The Federation took the initiative to bring together all the interested parties to find a way forward,” he said. “The result was a 10-point action plan aimed at delivering evidence of legal supplies of plywood from specific [Indonesian] mills. Federation members demonstrated that they were willing to engage in the market place and use whatever buying power they have to establish legal sources of supply.”

For further information on the EATTA seminar contact the EATTA at 2 Elm Tree Lane, Leavenheath, Colchester, Essex CB6 4UL.