Timber traders have urged the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Pan-European Forest Certification (PEFC) to put aside their differences and work together.
The call was made at the London Softwood Club’s environmental forum, attended by Anna Jenkins, director of FSC UK, and Len Yull of PEFC UK Ltd.
Those present were warned to wake up to the importance of providing certified timber goods and not bury their heads ‘in the sand’.
Kevin Hayes of Nelss (UK) Ltd said: ‘We need a generic labelling system. I would encourage FSC and PEFC to put their differences aside and come together. Let’s have one labelling system.’
Dr Penny Bienz, head of environmental affairs at Forests Forever, said that certification was the way forward and that the industry needed to ‘sit up and take notice’.
She predicted Tony Blair would return from the next Earth Summit demanding certification in the timber products industry.
One trader added: ‘We’re putting our heads in the sand. We need to be the people who are pushing. The majority of our customers in the next three to four years are going to need a significant amount of certified timber, particularly in the government sector.’
Ian Goldsmith, development and environmental director of Travis Perkins, forecast that procurement of certified timber in the public sector would increase significantly in the next five years.
The forum also heard the industry should be targeting rival materials instead of ‘beating itself with its own stick’. A need for an idiot’s guide to sustainability was also mooted.
