Nick MossCPET Awareness Coordinator

NSCPP Stakeholder Group Meeting9th February

Sustainable Timber Procurement in Local

Authorities

The Central Point of Expertise on Timber

CPET’s role

• Funded by Defra• Operated by ProForest • Information on the UK Government’s

timber procurement policy requirements• Advice on how public sector buyers and

their suppliers can meet the policy 

Background• Forests are a vital resource

environmentally, socially and economically;

• Illegal and non-sustainable timber harvest poses a critical threat to world’s forest resources.

• In 2008 16-19% of timber imports into the EU are estimated to derive from illegal or suspicious sources (WWF, 2008)

Impacts of illegal logging• Environmental

– biodiversity, habitat, watershed functions, etc.

– Climate change• Economic

– Loss of Gov. revenue, company profit, employment opportunities, etc.

• Social– Conflict, impoverishment, crime, health &

safety, etc.

European Context

TIMBER

• Created to stop the importation of illegal timber to the EU

• Addressing illegal logging, linking good governance in developing countries with the legal trade instruments and influence offered by the EU’s internal market. 

European Commission’s 2003 Action Plan on

Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade FLEGT

The role of the UK- UK is the 4th biggest net importer of wood products after the US, China and Japan

- Plays a leading role in Europe in timber procurement and shares experience internationally

• UK timber procurement policy supports delivery of a range of policies:– Combating climate change – Reducing illegal logging– Protection of biodiversity

Local Authorities and timber procurement

– Public sector account for over 30% of all timber purchases

– Only 7.5% of Local Authorities have a timber procurement policy (ENDS 2008)

– An important tool in tackling climate change and meeting sustainable development targets

The UK government Timber Procurement Policy

2000-2009: The UK Government will actively seek to procure

only legal timber, and preferably sustainable timber

2009 (1 April) ~ 2015:

All timber and wood-derived products must be from independently verifiable

legal and sustainable sources or FLEGT-licensed timber only

~ 2015- : Sustainable timber only

Timber = all timber and wood-derived products• Construction (including wood used temporarily

during construction works)• Paper (office supplies and printed material)• Furniture • Wood fuel• Other wood composite

products

Definitions

Applicability

• Policy is mandatory for all: 1. Central government departments, 2. Executive agencies 3. Non-departmental public bodies

(NDPBs)

• Autonomous organisations that receive public funding are encouraged to adopt the policy

– Local Authorities – Universities

Implementation -How is it implemented?

• Put into practice through contract clauses

• Government purchase of legal and sustainable timber is a policy, not a law. However, ‘breach of contract’ is illegal.

Guidance note

• Timber Procurement Guidance Note April 2009 – the ‘TPAN’– Replace November 2005 and

August 2008– Instruction for policy

implementation– Model specifications, contract

clauses and ITT letter

Defining sustainability

UK government defines legal and sustainable via set of criteria which evidence is assessed againstRecycled timber is accepted equally with sustainable wood under the policy.

Defined and clarified on the CPET website

Types of evidence

Invoice No: 1612 Invoice Date: 11/ 11/2005 Customer ID: Y- 12345

Date Your Order Ref

Our Order Ref

Sales Rep. FOB Send Via Terms Vat No

23.06.04 30009 1234 AA Acct

Item Quantity m3 Description Discount % Vat Unit Price Total

1 1 1.0245 Kiln Dried Hardwood Beech Pack No 12345 xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

2 1 0.9456 Kiln Dried Hardwood Ash Pack No 12346 xxxx xxxx xxxx

xxxx

Subtotal xxxx

Tax (17.5% ) xxxx P&P Miscellaneous

All the above products have been manufactured using FSC certified wood, certification TT -COC-1234

Balance Due xxxx

REMITTANCE Customer ID: Y12345 Date: 23.06.04 Amount Due: £xxxx Amount Enclosed:

I N V O I C E

Billing Address: Delivery Address: The Procurement Officer Buildings Dept Bigtown

Buildings Dept Depot Street Bigtown

ZZZ Merchants, T imber House, Wood Street, Bigtown, UK Phone: 01234 567890 Fax: 01234 567891 E-mail: info@zzz.com Web site: www.zzz.com

ZZZ Merchants

• Forest Certification schemes– Called ‘Category A’ under CPET

• Other types of credible evidence– Called ‘Category B’ under CPET

Category A evidence Forest certification schemesAssessed for compliance with legality and

sustainability criteria + criteria for the standard-setting process, certification,

accreditation and chain of custodyBi-annual review of accepted schemes and of

other relevant schemes

Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC)

Has endorsed CSA, SFI and MTCS

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)Assessment results, 2008

Certificate number to be checked online and invoice/delivery note to be checked at delivery

Invoice CoC Certificate Forest management Certificate

For more training: CPET workshops!

Category B evidenceOther types of credible evidence

• Evidence that shows– Traceability through supply chain (CoC)– Compliance with legality and

sustainability criteria• Equivalent to Category A evidence • Assessed on a case-by-case basis

When is Category B evidence needed? 1. Broken chain of custody: If the supply chain is partially certified but not to end use

2. If there is no certificate in the supply chainWhenever the supplier is not FSC/PEFC

certified to supply product!

Preparing Category B evidence

Legality: Checklist 2 (Forest source information on legality)

Sustainability: Checklist 3 (Forest source information on sustainability)

Checklist 1Supply chain information

Benefits of a timber procurement policyBy implementing a responsible timber purchasing policy, you can:

• Reduce your environmental footprint;

• Reduce your carbon footprint;

• Reduce risk;

• Ensure resource sustainability;

• Become a sustainable procurement champion.

Implementation in Local Authorities Local authorities can do so by:  

• Issuing a clear policy on what timber and paper to buy for authority work and use;

• Always asking for legal and sustainable forest products, or recycled products;

• Checking and recording basic information on whether what you bought met your policy.

Case study: Durham CC

• CPET worked with NEIEP and DCC to develop and implement a Sustainable timber procurement policy;

• Final draft published in May 2009;

• Policy is in line with the UK government policy and refers to CPET guidance on evidence;

• CPET and DCC working together to implement and monitor the policy.

Local Authorities Sustainable Timber Procurement ForumEstablish a Forum in which Local Authority representatives share best practice in implementing and monitoring sustainable timber procurement policies:

– Implement policy in line with UK government;

– Share problems and solutions in implementation and monitoring;

– Create case studies to share with other Local authorities;

CPET Services • Helpline: Technical support on certification

and evidence of legality/sustainability;• Training and raising awareness: Next

workshop in London on the 17th March;• Website: Information and advice on how to

meet the timber procurement policy for Local Authorities www.cpet.org.uk/guidance-for-local-authorities.

Policy summary

• Purchasing legal and sustainable timber is an important issue nationally and internationally

• It is mandatory for Central Government Departments, Agencies and affiliated Bodies

• Local Authorities and other autonomous public sector organisations are encouraged to adopt the policy

Evidence summary• Two categories of evidence can be used

– Category A (forest certification schemes)– Category B (other credible evidence)

• FSC and PEFC (SFI & CSA) can currently be used to demonstrate compliance

• There are three Checklists available for use when preparing Category B evidence

• Due to EU Procurement Directives buyers must allow both types of evidence.

• CPET available for support

In summary: Ensuring compliance public buyer • Implement specifications and clauses for all

potential timber/timber products

• Request evidence of compliance and highlight the requirement with suppliers and contractors

• Check compliance– Certified supplier: Check invoices or delivery notes– Other cases forward evidence to CPET

• Implement a system as a part of your contract management

• Act on cases of non-compliance

Comments and Questionscpet@proforest.netwww.proforest.net/cpet

Helpline +44 (0)1865 243766

THANK YOU