Government adds social criteria to its timber procurement policy

Environment secretary Hilary Benn has announced that all Government procurement contracts for timber products will, from 1st April 2010, include social criteria as contract conditions, in addition to the existing requirement that all government-bought timber is legal and sustainable.
Mr Benn said: ‘The new social criteria demonstrate the UK’s commitment to use government purchasing power to help push illegal and unsustainable timber out of the market by improving labour standards, protecting the interests of developing nations and tackling climate change’.
Central government, together with local authorities and other government bodies, is estimated to purchase 40% of all timber bought in the UK. The illegal trade in timber is a serious problem for many timber-producing countries in the developing world and is estimated to cost governments billions of dollars in lost revenue, in addition to contributing to corruption and environmental degradation. Deforestation is responsible for about a fifth of global carbon emissions, and can only be prevented through sustainable land management.
The speech addresses supplier demands for more consistent timber procurement policies with the new criteria addressing tenure and use rights, means of resolving grievances and disputes, safeguarding the basic labour, and health and safety rights of forest workers.
The minister’s announcement was made at the Chatham House Illegal Logging Stakeholder Update and the complete speech can be found here.
The BWF can help you supply legal and sustainable timber. We run a Group Chain of Custody scheme for smaller companies to help them in gaining FSC and PEFC certification, in addition to a Consultancy package to assist larger organisations. Please follow this link for more information on our Total Support Services, including information documents and an application form.