Government timber buying policy slammed

The government has “failed” to make good its promises on sustainable timber procurement, a damning report by parliament’s environmental audit committee has concluded.

The Buying Time for Forests report, released after an inquiry taking months, said while the government’s sustainability rhetoric had been laudable, there had been “no systematic or even anecdotal evidence of any significant change in the pattern of timber procurement since July 2000”.

Failure to undertake adequate research prior to its July 2000 commitments meant it “hugely” underestimated the scale of the challenge and the resources needed, leading to “an abject failure to deliver on the promises made”.

The report said it was disappointing the government had not taken greater advantage of private sector experience in initiating the required culture change in procurement.

Immediate recommendations include making the timber procurement policy a priority; establishing clear criteria for the assessment of certification schemes (including drawing on expertise of NGOs); setting clear and progressive targets and providing definitive guidance to procurement officials.

However, Mark O’Brien, head of public affairs at the Timber Trade Federation, said criteria for assessing certification schemes must be inclusive and not focus solely on the Forest Stewardship Council scheme.

He said: “Policy should not be designed to prejudice countries that either have no schemes or schemes under development, but this looks like a back door recommendation to procure only certified timber.”

Director of FSC UK Anna Jenkins, who gave evidence to the committee, said: “We hope this report will kick-start government specifiers and procurement officers into action and are looking forward to helping them with their enquiries.”

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