Moving up a gear

Trade federations are sometimes perceived as lumbering edifices, firmly rooted in their past. Yet the Timber Trade Federation (TTF) I see, as I start my term as president, has a different outlook. It values and has learned from its past but is pushing ahead on behalf of members, taking us to new, potentially profitable and definitely challenging places.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is probably the best example. BIM systems can underline the long-term operational cost and sustainability gains of using wood in construction. Under the Wood First Plus project, the TTF, with Wood for Good, Scottish Enterprise, TRADA and Forestry Commission Scotland, is collating timber data for specifiers and housebuilders. This is moving timber up a gear, ready to compete with other construction materials on the same factual footing.

The Wood First Plus focus on life cycle assessment will steer the sector towards more cost-efficient operations. The project's carbon work-stream will help our financial future in a carbon-challenged business environment. SCA's own work on carbon footprint has identified transport and in particular packaging as negative carbon contributors. As forest owners, though, the emissions from all of SCA's manufacturing operations are countered by the positive contribution from growth in our forests.

In recent years, the TTF has changed the perceptions of authorities and NGOs towards our sector, underlining that we too are concerned about the future of the planet's forests. The next step is to make the wider public more aware that we are as keen as them to stamp out illegal logging.

I ask you to join me in moving our Federation forward, in projecting our fundamental values to all those around us.

We are our own best ambassadors. We should take every opportunity to speak confidently about our industry and its contribution to the three elements of sustainability: economics, environment and society. We should also talk about training options, apprenticeships and career development. Join me in furthering the positive perception that our Federation has started to create.