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Treasury tops timber procurement spend



WWF report shows Government department timer procurement scores

The Treasury has scored highest of all Government departments when it comes to suitable timber procurement. The report, carried out by WWF, follows on from mandatory guidelines which were set out to ensure the Government avoids supporting the trade in illegal and unsuitable logging.

The report indicated that Defra, despite being home to the unit designed to assist others in managing responsible procurement, ranged in the middle of all departments, while education scored the lowest.

WWF carried out the report by requesting answers from a questionnaire on how they were implementing and monitoring the Government’s Timer Procurement Policy (TPP). This policy was implemented 17 years ago to ensure the Government timber purchasing, did not have a negative impact on forests and forest-dependent communities around the world. The policy covers timber procurement for a variety of purposes, including paper products and furniture, and for use in construction,  refurbishment and maintenance projects. 

According to the results many departments did not implement the TPP properly, and the Northern Ireland Office claimed that it was unaware the policy existed.

Due to these findings WWF is concerned that some Government departments could be supporting the continued trade in illegally-sourced or unsustainable timber and wood products, by not carrying out their timber procurement properly and checking the supply of their purchased products to confirm their legality.

The report found that:

  • Under a third (six out of the 21) of central government departments required to implement the Timber Procurement Policy (TPP) achieve full compliance.
  • Only three out of ten departments which answered the question considered that they themselves are fully implementing the TPP.
  • Less than 10% of the relevant contracts are checked for compliance,
  • Of the ten departments that answered the question, only half had a system in place for monitoring implementation of the TPP.  Of those five, only two had an independently audited system.
  • Just over half of the central government departments had made use of the advisory service the Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET), managed by Defra. Three had not, including Defra, and five departments did not answer.

Beatrix Richards, Head of Corporate Stewardship – Natural Commodities, said: “The Government has huge buying power and influence and, as the self-declared ‘greenest government ever’, it should at the very least implement its own policies. WWF’s report shows implementation is patchy at best and that even basic requirements, like checking that timber products are not purchased from unsustainable or illegal sources, have not yet been adopted by all departments.

“People will be dismayed to know that it is still legally possible to buy illegally sourced timber in the UK, and that our own government may well be supporting illegal deforestation of some of the last natural forests around the world. The government needs to act decisively and ensure it is using public funds appropriately to support those businesses which are engaging in responsible forest trade.” 

Over 30 UK businesses have joined the bid to ensure all their timber sourcing is sustainable by 2020, including Kimberly-Clark, Pearson, Saint Gobain and Wilmott-Dixon, and are calling on the Government to ensure its timber procurement leads the way.

The UK’s market for wood based products was valued at £14Bn last year, making it the world’s fifth largest market. The public sector spent £238Bn on timber procurement, which equates to 33% of all public sector spending. On average the world loses 13 million hectares of forest per year and demand for wood is expected to triple by 2050, increasing the pressure put on the forests.

The full report is available to download via the WWF website.

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