Why Certify Wood Products?
Markets -- Opportunities and Challenges
Walmart’s ‘Wood and Paper Network’ focuses on bringing to their customers products made from sustainably harvested trees at an affordable price. Walmart’s goal? “Eliminate wood from our supply chain that comes from unwanted sources by 2013.”1 To meet that goal Walmart has partnered with the World Wildlife Fund’s Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) to eliminate illegal logging and improve the management of valuable and threatened forests.
Worldwide, consumers are increasingly making ‘green’ choices about the way they live and the products they buy and use. The National Geographic Society 2010 Greendex Survey found that “environmentally friendly behavior among consumers in 10 out of 17 countries has increased over the past year” and that such environmentally friendly consumer behavior “has now increased from 2008 levels in all but one of the 14 countries polled in both 2008 and 2010”4. The survey indicates that the frequency of such behaviours is advancing most rapidly in developing markets such as India, Brazil and China.
For Walmart, third party certification by one of several recognised programs is a key element in their internal processes to assure that wood used in any product they sell does not originate from an ‘unwanted source’. If the wood products your company produces are sold into a supply chain serving Walmart – even if your company is several links back in the chain -- the ultimate vendor will be subject to a supplier assessment and wood purchasing policy that will pose the question “have you obtained third party certifications for any of the products that you sell to Walmart”?2 Companies that cannot meet that standard will not be part of the Walmart supplier network.
Source: Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2010-2011
FSC Certified Furniture
Source http://walmartstores.com/Sustainability/9172.aspx
In construction, building products manufacturers are increasingly being required to supply ‘green’ building products, often to meet standards specified in such programs as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) and Green Globes™. Wood products acceptable to these standards require certification as having been sourced from sustainably managed forests. Similarly, major building products distribution and retail chains such The Home Depot, explicitly state in their purchasing policies that they will “give preference to the purchase of wood and wood products originating from certified well managed forests wherever feasible”3.
As a ‘natural’ and naturally renewable substance, wood products are well positioned to take advantage of this shift in consumer behaviour across a wide range of applications. Forest certification provides customers with independent assurance that the original material is harvested in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner, and chain-of-custody certification provides similar assurance that these standards have not been compromised during the processing, manufacturing and distribution steps in the value chain from the forest to the end user. Examples abound of wood products manufacturers that have gained competitive and market advantage through certification. One example from nearby upstate New York is Adirondack Hardwoods, which offers quality hardwood products, including green-certified lumber, plywood, and flooring. They also operate Saranac Hollow Woodworking, focused on the design and production of custom furniture, casework, millwork, and historic reproductions. The company supplies green-certified wood products using raw materials from managed forests that meet the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and has experienced increased interest in, and sales of, certified wood products5.
For many producers, adopting a green certification protocol will represent an effective means of ensuring existing customers can be retained and new customers attracted, with little change or incremental effort to current marketing and sales programs. However, for other companies, green certification can be used as a vehicle for attracting new customers in both domestic and export markets. Some basic marketing and sales development activities will be required6: • Establishing a green presence on your website incorporating information relating your product or business to environmental matters including: o Corporate commitment to sustainability; o Information on green aspects of wood; and, o Information on the green characteristics of your specific products. • Place listings in green product directories. • Identify, demonstrate, and promote third party certifications. Capitalising on Trends – Seizing Opportunities The increasing tendency of buyers of industrial and consumer products to emphasise ‘green’ products has and will increasingly create new market opportunities for value added wood products manufacturers. However, these opportunities will not be available to producers who do not actively seek them out and develop the relationships needed to enter identified new markets. Specific activities that will need to be initiated and continued over time will include: • Development of a detailed understanding of the needs of product – market segments being targeted; • Identification and profiling of the key influencers for selection of wood products being used in the targeted product – market segments; • Work with government trade departments and agencies to organise and operate in-bound trade missions focused on key influencers and buyers from targeted markets, including key importers, agents and wholesalers; • Participate in trade shows and outbound trade missions focused on targeted market / industry segments; and, • Undertake continuous in-market customer relationship development efforts. In many markets, establishment of relationships with experienced, reputable import agents and / or brokers will be important to sales success. Equally important will be a continuing market and sales development presence that will
demonstrate commitment to the potential buyers in that market as well as to continued production of ‘green’, certified wood products. Notwithstanding the challenges presented by the relatively high value of the Canadian Dollar, Canadians and Canadian companies are generally well respected in many international and should be able to establish successful, long term relationships with buyers that will lead to increased sales. About This Program and Publication Chain of Custody is the path wood products take through the supply chain - from forest to consumer - including processing, transformation, manufacturing, and distribution. To be labelled and sold as “certified” a wood product must come from a certified forest and be produced in facilities that hold Chain of Custody certification; which provides a credible guarantee to consumers that the end product comes from a sustainably-managed forest. The Eastern Ontario Model Forest has been dedicated to forest certification for over ten years, and has become a forerunner in furthering the application and use of forest certification approaches, tools, education and awareness. For more information on this program please visit: www.eomf.on.ca/certification The Eastern Ontario Model Forest gratefully acknowledges: the financial support of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources which enabled this publication; as well as its ongoing partnership with FPInnovations, Wood Manufacturing Council, Ontario Wood Products Export Association and others in helping to create new supply and demand for Ontario wood. Additional Information Readers urged to review several of the marketing related publications and websites referenced in this document, links to which can be found at the EOMF website; and particularly, “Selling Wood Products to the Green Building Market” published by FP Innovations, and “Value Added Wood Products Marketing Guide” published by the US Forest Service. http://walmartstores.com/Sustainability/9172.aspx http://walmartstores.com/Sustainability/9292.aspx 3 https://corporate.homedepot.com/CorporateResponsibility/ Environment/WoodPurchasing/Pages/default.aspx 4 http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/ greendex/ 5 “Value Added Wood Products Marketing Guide”, US Forest Service, 2010, p84, http://na.fs.fed.us/pubs/werc/vamg/value_added_mkting_guide_lr.pdf 6 “Selling Wood Products to the Green Building Market, FP Innovations, 2009 -- http://www.solutionsforwood.ca/_docs/ reports/LEED-GG24Mar09.pdf 1 2