UK: Strong growth in certified timber supply and demands
A new survey finds that demands for certified products have tripled, compared to the findings of a survey conducted in 2005: Specific requests for certified goods from the customers of importers and distributors have risen from around 10% of sales in 2005 to over 30% in 2008, which is good news in an area where previously there have been reports of lack of demand for certified stock.
This ties in with the development seen on the supply side. The report estimates the proportion of certified wood products available to UK suppliers to have grown from around 67% to more than 83%.
The vast majority of certified products traded in the UK are certified to the FSC or PEFC scheme. The report finds that more than 50% of the wood products available on the UK market are now FSC-certified, while PEFC certified products account for 31.5%. There are considerable variations in certified timber availability across product types however.
It should be noted that the report is based on only 36 responses from market operators. It is also likely that those who responded are relatively more involved in certification than the average timber company. The small sample size implies a considerable error-margin when extrapolating results to all of the UK timber market.
All UK panel products certified
The survey reports that all UK panel products are certified, similar to what was found in the 2005 survey.
The certified UK harvest was nearly 84% in 2008, while the certified production of UK sawmills was at 75.4% in 2008. The level of certification in the UK timber industry is thus very high.
However, since this was already the case in 2005, the growth seen between 2005 and 2008 is relatively modest.
Big increase in certified softwood imports
The biggest increase in volumes of certified wood on the UK market is seen for imported products, particularly for softwood. In just three years, the share of certified is found to have grown from 58% to more than 90% for softwood products imported to the UK. PEFC certified softwood imports almost doubled, while the share of FSC softwood imports fell from 21.2% to 16.9%.
However, the report notes that a number of traders responding to the 2005 survey, but not to the 2008 survey, had a greater proportion of FSC certified softwood than PEFC within their total purchases.
Tropical hardwoods still at risk
Compared to the significant development for softwood, the growth in certified hardwood timber was modest, rising from around 11% to 16%. 
The import of FSC-certified hardwood lumber increased significantly from 3.6% to 11.6%, while the import of hardwood certified to the PEFC scheme fell slightly from 2.1% to 1.9%.
AS noted above, the figures should probably be appraised with caution due to the small sample size.
It is also important to realize the relative importance of tropical hardwood when gauging the UK timber market’s impact on the world’s forests.
Julia Young, Manager of WWF's Global Forest and Trademark Network in the UK, commented: "Highlighting the improved supply of UK domestic certified timber availability is a good move, but the figures in this report should not be mistakenly translated in to the UK's overall footprint on forests globally. This report includes a figure, for example, that 84.1% of imported hardwoods are not certified. It is in the uncertified portion where the unknown and potentially poor sources lie - coming from Congo Basin countries, Indonesia, Brazil, or from transit countries like China, which are sourcing from those regions. Addressing our footprint on global forest resources means increasingly focusing on excluding goods with no source and legality information from the supply chain”.
Smaller companies are starting to come on board
The survey notes that in keeping with the 2005 findings, there is a pronounced difference between larger and smaller companies regarding the demands they meet for certified products. The larger companies reported a significantly higher proportion of certified sales that were based on specific requests from the buyer. This is probably connected with the fact that larger companies often supply larger industrial and public sector users, and thereby also connected with public procurement requirements. However, the distinction has become less clear, indicating that the ability to supply certified products is becoming more of an issue among the smaller timber companies as well.
Young says: “The most interesting part of this report has been largely overlooked - that is, identifying a two tier system in the trade when it comes to improvement in responsible purchasing in the timber industry. Perhaps this is where the trade can make its most meaningful contribution – sharing lessons between themselves on sourcing, chain of custody, and building relationships with customers, to improve the sector across the board. We look forward too, to the timber industry delivering COC for the customer more readily, and building awareness and capacity at store level to help people access these better choices".
