Implement a responsible timber purchasing policy

Forest management can be environmentally appropriate and socially beneficial, but it can also be environmentally and socially damaging.

A responsible timber purchasing policy recognises the responsibility of government as a consumer of forest products to ensure that it has a neutral if not positive effect on the world’s forests

In writing a policy, the following statements should be included in some way, shape or form:

"This policy recognises the responsibility of this Local Authority as a consumer of forest products to ensure that it has a neutral if not positive effect on the world's forests."

"This Council will give preference to timber and timber products that have been independently certified by a credible, globally applicable forest certification scheme and can demonstrate that the products are derived from well managed sources."

Documentation must be provided to prove that every attempt has been made to obtain certified sources before exploring alternatives. Flexibility in terms of species specification should be pursued.

All officers with responsibility for specifying timber should be required to inform contractors of the council's wood purchasing policy.

» Find out about the requirements for credible certification system.

Nine steps to responsible purchasing

In order to guarantee the successful implementation of the timber purchasing policy, specifying credibly certified timber such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Local Authorities should consider some guidelines:

• Inform staff

Local Authorities should hold a meeting to which all the staff with responsibility for timber procurement are invited. During this meeting, the timber purchasing policy can be discussed and questions related to, for example, FSC and the practical implementation of the new policy can be addressed.

• Provide the contractor with enough information

The staff with responsibility for specifying timber shall inform the contractors of the timber purchasing policy. Clear tender specifications and assistance to the contractors are essential. Some companies know the FSC procedure, but many do not. It is highly recommended to inform them on how they can obtain more information about FSC.

• Administrative guarantee

When FSC certified products are requested, the contractor has to give a guarantee to the Local Authority that the timber comes from an FSC certified forest. As the timber, once purchased, may not physically carry a trademark, check the invoice of the supplier, which should clearly state that independently certified timber was supplied. There should be a code number that refers to the chain of custody certificate number, for example SA-COC-1022, or SGS/COC/0755/6525/0184.

• Prescribe technical requirements

Local Authorities commonly prescribe a limited range of timber species, however not all of them are available with an FSC label. Therefore we suggest that Local Authorities prescribe technical requirements rather than timber species in tender dossiers. These descriptions can be as detailed as one wishes. For example, construction timber could be specified as follows:
- European or North American coniferous wood
- Strength: refer to stress grading, or mention "as strong as Oregon-select & merch. - 63 x 180 mm".
- Durability: refer to a certain standard or mention "suitable for this application" or preserved with boric salts.
- Aesthetic aspects can also be mentioned.

• Use of lesser known timber species

Consumers are used to purchasing a very limited range of timber species, such as Meranti for exterior carpentry and often forget that thousands of wood species exist. The overexploitation of certain species causes environmental problems and so it is highly recommended to use a broader range of species.

As an effect of the certification process, lesser known timber species become available on our markets. The support of the certification process includes the appropriate use of lesser known FSC certified species.

• Refine the search

Although the range (volume as well as number of species) is rapidly expanding, not all species are available with the FSC label. In order to help contractors in search of FSC certified timber, you can provide them with a list of companies selling FSC certified products.

• Different applications

If the project requires the use of different timber species for different applications, it is recommended to make separate tender specifications in order to facilitate the process. Your national FSC working group, WWF office or Forest and Trade Network can provide assistance for the setting up and implementation of your timber purchasing policy and provide you with further information about FSC. Contact details can be found in the respective country fact sheets.

• Set up a monitoring procedure

Local Authorities should set up a simple monitoring procedure so as to follow the implementation of their timber purchasing policy. This monitoring procedure might take the form of a pie chart which indicates the volumes of FSC certified timber and those of non-certified timber products.

• Legal aspects related to the prescription of FSC certified wood in tender specifications

Currently (July 2003), Local Authorities are fully allowed to specify certain environmental and social criteria in tender specifications, as long as they are clear and are announced in advance. In order to avoid discrimination against other labels, the specifications have to mention that the timber has to be certified according to the rules of FSC or the rules of an equivalent system that meets the requirements for a credible label.