Sustainability
In the fight against climate change it is imperative to ensure the future of forestry continues to be healthy. We are passionate about sustainability. As timber merchants, we can have a huge impact on the environment, simply by ensuring the timber we stock and sell is sustainable.
What is sustainable timber?
Sustainable timber as an umbrella term refers to wood products that are obtained from responsibly managed forests. The ultimate goal of sustainable forestry is to balance the economic, social, and environmental impacts and benefits which occur in the management of forests, so they are sustained for future generations.
Sustainable forestry involves managing the world’s forests, thinning where needed to encourage stronger growth in the more commercial trees, planting new trees to replace those that have been harvested, protecting biodiversity and habitats, and reducing waste and pollution. We are proud to be members of Timber Development UK and Confor. As members of Timber Development UK we are signatories to the mandatory Responsible Purchasing Policy which is audited annually, by completing this process, it meets our responsibility under the UK Timber Regulations to prove the legality of the timber that we supply. Risk assessments of our suppliers is undertaken as part of this process to ensure that we rule out any risk of illegally produced timber entering into the supply chain.
Timber Sourcing & Certification
We hold Chain of Custody certificates for FSC®, PEFC and GiB (Grown in Britain). There is a misconception that all stock for companies that hold these certificates is certified. That is most certainly not the case. Some companies are able to make this claim, but it is important that if your project requires the timber to be certified, that you ask for it right at the start of your conversation with us. We can then ensure that we source the correct material for you.
Timber from well managed woodlands is a natural, renewable raw material. Choosing certified timber actively negates environmental issues, ecosystem destruction and landscape deterioration caused by deforestation.
We source and supply timber certified by three different certifying bodies: Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), Grown in Britain (GiB) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). However, timber does not have to be part of one of these schemes to be sustainable. Much of the forestry, across the Northern Hemisphere is not covered by these schemes, but will be controlled by the relevant country’s government.
Renewable Energy
Since 2013 we have been generating electricity from solar energy with an 80Kwh photovoltaic system on our workshop roof. This generates around 24% of our energy usage.
Timber Recycling
The majority of our production by-products (we hate the word waste) are recycled.
The slabwood – long pieces of wood either off the side of logs or from re-dimensioned stock - is chipped for biomass used in the local area.
Wood shavings and wood dust are used for animal bedding.
Smaller offcuts are either used for firewood or chipped for composting.
There is a small amount of timber or timber products which contain contaminants – paint, glues, timber preservatives, that cannot at this time be recycled by us and are collected by a waste disposal company.
Download our Environmental, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Policy here.
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