Government Policy

All government departments and agencies must actively seek to buy timber and timber products from legal and sustainable sources.

Legal timber is the minimum standard condition of contract.

Government Policy & Meeting Government Contractural Requirements

Government and government influenced contracts for timber or timber products have a minimum specification requirement that the timber is legally logged and traded. Contractor are required to ensure that the organisation that felled the trees used to meet the contract had legal use rights to the forest, holds a register of all local and national laws and codes of practice relevant to forestry operations, complied with all local and national laws including environmental, labour and health & safety laws and paid all relevant loyalties and taxes.

Contractors must obtain documentary evidence that the timber is both legal and legally traded before delivery as the authority can demand to see this evidence for a period of up to six years after delivery. Additionally, the timber must be traceable from its source in the forest, through the supply chain and verified by a licensed independent third party audit organisation.

CPET - CentralPoint of Expertise on Timber

The Government has set up CPET (Central Point of Expertise on Timber) and is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is operated by ProForest, an independent company with wide experience in responsible purchasing.

The Central Point of Expertise on Timber Procurement's (CPET) provides detailed information and advice on how public sector buyers and their suppliers can meet the UK Government’s timber procurement policy requirements in practice. In addition, background information is available on how these practical solutions were developed, including the types of evidence that demonstrate legality and sustainability and the criteria for evaluating such evidence under the definitions of ‘category A’ or ‘category B’ criteria evidence.

"Catagory A"evidence is certification from a scheme that currently meets the UK Government’s requirements.

 


Scheme

Legal

(100% from legal sources)

Sustainable

(>70% from sustainable sources)

 

CSA

Canadian Standards Association

 

All certified products.

 

Yes

FSC

Forest Stewardship Council

 

All certified products.

Only products containing >70% certified or recycled raw material.

MTCC

Malaysian Timber Certification Council

 

All certified products.

 

No

 

PEFC

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification

 

All certified products.

Only products containing >70% certified or recycled raw materia

SFI

Sustainable Forestry Initiative

 

All certified products.

Only products containing >70% certified or recycled raw material*.

 

"Catagory B" evidence is all forms of credible evidence other than certification schemes. There are two main types of Catagory B evidence:

  • Evidence from programmes and initiatives other than recognised certification schemes.
  • Ad hoc evidence provided by information such as audit statements, government documentation or supplier declarations.

There are three issues that determine the adequacy of category B evidence:

  • The requirements for traceability from the forest source are met, represented by the evidence.
  • The requirements for legality and/or sustainability at the forest source are met, represented by the evidence.
  • The credibility of the evidence.

This type of evidence can vary greatly and needs to be judged on a case-by-case basis. The government recognised that it needed a framework for assessing which evidence can be accepted as delivering its timber policy.