PEFC UK January 2013 Newsletter by PEFC UK

PEFC /16-01-01

PEFCUK NEWS www.pefc.co.uk

issue 28 january 2013

EUTR and PEFC Chain of Custody Certification With the introduction of the EU Timber Regulation only weeks away, companies along the supply chain are looking for a cost effective solution to demonstrate compliance. To help PEFC member companies, the PEFC Chain of Custody standard is being revised to align with EUTR requirements. The 2013 PEFC Chain of Custody standard is currently in public consultation (see treee.es/2013-coc for further information). Although approval of the new standard is expected in March, companies can already align their PEFC Chain of Custody with EUTR in four easy steps, based on the enquiry draft of the new standard. The availability of PEFC’s Due Diligence System (DDS) certification as a standalone scheme may be of particular interest to uncertified companies. In addition to demonstrating compliance with the EUTR, the PEFC DDS can serve as an initial step to full PEFC Chain of Custody certification.

Method of separation 1 Scope

Percentage-based

Physical Separation Apply the PEFC DDS to...

… all product groups covered by your PEFC Chain of Custody (including certified material).

… all incoming PEFC certified material.

Consider extending the PEFC DDS to all your products 2 Information requirements

• Inform your suppliers about the additional information requirements. • Obtain a revised self-declaration from your suppliers which specify how information can be accessed. • Agree with your suppliers how information is provided

3 Risk mitigation

Use the additional indicators in your risk assessment

Verify on delivery level whether comments or complaints exist (see

(see Tables 1 – 3 in the PEFC Chain of Custody Enquiry Draft)

section 5.6 of Appendix 2 in the Enquiry draft). If yes, implement specific risk

mitigation procedures 4 Record keeping

Keep records about all these additional actions to provide evidence of due diligence to the responsible National Competent Authority.

RFS seeks tree-mendous projects The Royal Forestry Society (RFS) is searching for the most inspirational educational projects that promote learning about trees in counties stretching from Worcestershire to Cumbria. PEFC UK is co-sponsoring the Schools Award for the second year in succession.

Last year’s RFS Gold Award winner, Free Rangers Forest School Nursery School.

Entry to the RFS Schools Award 2013 is free and there are prizes of £1000 for the winner and £500 for the runner up. The Award is open to all schools, colleges and educational establishments, from nursery to age 18, in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Shropshire, West Midlands, Staffordshire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria. Entries can encompass any current project relating to trees and woodlands. Entries must be received by 4 March 2013, and judging will take place in May and June 2013. For further details and entry forms visit www.rfs.org.uk or email rfscompetition@boyns.net.

bangor on pefc target Completed in summer 2012 and due to open in March 2013, the Bangor Aurora Aquatics and Leisure Complex in Northern Ireland, is a state-of-the art leisure centre. It incorporates a 50 metre Olympicsized swimming pool and is one of the largest ever glulam projects in the UK. Commissioned by client North Down Borough Council, the timber for the 1,500m3 of glulam is made up of twenty seven primary beams and associated purlins of PEFC-certified Spruce.

The project includes a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit allowing the building to locally generate its entire heat requirement and 65% of its own electricity requirement. The project has achieved BREEAM Excellent on a leisure facility of this type, in part by integration of the CHP plant and the low embodied energy of the timber in the glulam. The £38 million project is part of the wider local legacy plans resulting from the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Key Project Information Construction Start

August 2010

Construction Finish June 2012 Architects S & P Architects, McAdam Design, Belfast Glulam Supplier

Wiehag GmbH

Main Construction & Engineering Contractor Farrans

Sourced and engineered by Wiehag in Austria, the PEFC-certified Spruce forms 70m long curved beams that are 1.5m deep and 42cm wide with clear spans of 40m over the pool. Each beam weighs 20 tonnes and was manufactured in two parts to ease transportation logistics. The entire roof is 165m long by 70m wide.

Consumer Report Highlights Importance of Ecolabels Certification labels such as PEFC’s on product packaging can help consumers identify sustainable products, according to a recent study.

The Regeneration Roadmap study - a joint GlobeScan, SustainAbility, BBMG project - found that consumers are re-thinking what they consume, with sustainability in mind. According to the study, 66% of consumers across six countries agree that “as a society, we need to consume a lot less to improve the environment for future generations” while 65% admit to feeling “a sense of responsibility to purchase products that are good for the environment and society”. 40% of the sample consumer group across all six markets look to certification seals or labels on product packaging as the most trusted source of information about whether a product is environmentally and socially responsible. Certifications are ranked highest by consumers in developed countries (43%), while those in developing markets list media reports (37%) as their most trusted source of information. Welcoming the results, PEFC’s Secretary General, Ben Gunneberg commented “this survey confirms the benefits that certification labels such as PEFC offer to responsible companies. With consumer demand for environmentally-responsible goods increasing, PEFC certification can help highlight a company’s sustainability credentials”. To download the full report visit theregenerationroadmap.com/research/consumer-study

NEW wood campus POCKET GUIDE TO TIMBER

CPET 2013

In recent years there has been much talk about levels of competence in

CPET will be holding a series

the small builder sector, given the scarcity of apprenticeships. This is as

of workshops in London

much a concern for the timber industry, whose reputation is literally in the

and regional centres on the

builders’ hands, as for builders’ merchants, who see a lack of confidence

UK Government’s Timber

in using timber as a barrier to sales.

Procurement Policy (TPP) throughout the year. The It complements the online resource and covers topics such as sustainability, the EU Timber Regulation, joinery timber, flooring, strength and spans, engineered wood cladding, decking and windows. Merchants who join Wood Campus can print their own versions of the guide. For more information, contact tony@woodcampus.co.uk.

To help address this directly, Wood Campus, the UK’s timber information and learning resource, has just launched a 24-page booklet for timber merchants to enhance staff training and provide key fact information to merchants’ customers.

Wood Campus is a Swedish Wood, Jewson and Buildbase initiative in co-operation with Wood for Good, TRADA, the Timber Decking and Cladding Association and the Wood Window Alliance. It provides free access to different levels of information from RIBA accredited CPD modules to ’90-second know-hows’ as well as a free Smartphone app.

For more information visit www.woodcampus.co.uk.

ECOBUILD 2013 Stand S1130 In March, PEFC will be exhibiting at Ecobuild for the fifth year in succession. Ecobuild is the world’s largest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment. This year’s show will be held London’s ExCeL exhibition and conference centre from 5-7 March. PEFC UK will be sharing a stand with fellow PEFC member schemes – the North American Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). www.sfiprogram.org and the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC). www.mtcc.com.my.

All three organisations will be there to promote the benefits of certified timber from around the globe. If you are planning to visit the show, you can find us in the South Hall, Stand. S1130

TPP Policy is mandatory for all Central Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. These workshops are free to attend for members of government departments, publically funded bodies, their suppliers and contractors. Workshops will open with a session on sustainability and timber products, followed by practical sessions on TPP compliance. In addition, this year CPET is joining forces with Wood for Good on a series of seminars which will kick off in May and run throughout 2013. These seminars will highlight the benefits of building with timber through case studies of schools, hospitals and other public buildings which have used timber as their primary construction material. For more information on dates and locations, email cpet@efeca.com or see www.cpet.org.uk/training-andawareness-raising.

growing demand for pefc certification Less than 10% of the world’s forests are currently certified and the majority of these are located in the northern hemisphere. The ongoing challenge for forest certification schemes such as PEFC’s therefore, is to encourage more countries to develop national sustainable forest management certification schemes. PEFC currently endorses schemes from thirty five countries and is keen to extend its membership still further. We currently have ongoing relationships with fifteen countries that are in the process of developing their national forest certification systems. In November, nine of these participated in a standards development workshop which was held alongside PEFC’s General Assembly in Vienna.

The workshop provided an opportunity to get like-minded organisations around the same table to collaborate on solutions to the challenges they face when developing national certification systems. Although PEFC publishes comprehensive requirements for these national systems, it recognises that practical training sessions can really help simplify the process.

The workshop brought together representatives from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cameroon, Ghana, Hungary, Indonesia, Mexico, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nepal and Turkey, with representatives from existing PEFC members from Austria, Italy, Malaysia, Slovenia and Slovakia. Interest in PEFC’s programme is growing rapidly on all continents so the organisation is actively increasing its support to guide national certification system development. In early 2013, PEFC will launch a toolkit for use by those involved in the development of certification systems to help them navigate PEFC’s requirements. For further details e-mail info@pefc.org.

MEET PEFC Ecobuild 2013 5-7 March 2013, ExCeL London For further details visit www.ecobuild.co.uk PEFC UK AGM and Stakeholder Meetings. 4th July 2013 Country Land & Business Association London SW1

UK furniture looks to pefc PEFC has recently collaborated with The British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM). PEFC presented a paper in September 2012 to more than 50 companies manufacturing domestic furniture on how Chain of Custody meets the requirements of the EUTR and how certification can help demonstrate compliance. Since then, PEFC has worked with BFM and the Soil Association to deliver a further workshop alongside members of the Association of Independent Stores (AIS) that covered both the EUTR and Chain of Custody certification. Group Chain of Custody options were presented as a cost effective means of enabling smaller companies to participate

in the PEFC programme. Any company with less than 50 employees and a turnover of under £6 million can opt to join a Group Scheme, which will save the company money in set up costs, assessment and on-going surveillance fees. Several Group Certification schemes are already in operation and PEFC is keen to work with other Trade Associations to raise awareness of this option. Group Chain of Custody can help smaller companies benefit from the procurement of PEFCcertified products, be compliant with the EUTR and sell their products with a globally recognised sustainability logo to provide their customers with assurances of sustainable sourcing.

Timber Expo 2013 24-25 September 2013 Ricoh Arena, Coventry

contacts Alun Watkins PEFC UK National Secretary e awatkins@pefc.co.uk t 0114 307 2334 For all general enquiries and queries about Chain of Custody and use of the PEFC logo Hilary Khawam PEFC Communications Director e hilary.khawam@pefc.co.uk t 01689 819902 Marketing and communications enquiries