Wood for Good to Unveil Manifesto at Timber Expo

9 September 2011

Wood for Good – the timber industry’s sustainability and awareness campaign – is set to launch the first sector-wide manifesto at this month’s Timber Expo.

The document, which has been endorsed by a collection of the UK’s leading timber and wood product trade organisations, sets out to establish the case for increasing wood use in the built environment due to its proven sustainability credentials.

Wood for Good says that using timber helps satisfy the three central tenets of sustainability – the environment, the economy and people – and has divided the manifesto into three sections accordingly.

Dubbed the ‘Timber Industry Manifesto’ the document concludes with seven policy demands which it says will help to create a “more sustainable UK.”

Among the campaign’s demands are calls for a public endorsement of timber as an eco-material from the UK Government and for a ‘Wood First’ rule that requires wood to be considered, where feasible, as the primary building material in all publicly funded projects.

To date the trade federations which have agreed to endorse the manifesto include: the Timber Trade Federation, Swedish Forestry Industry association, Confor, British Woodworking Federation (BWF), Wood Window Alliance (WWA), Wood Protection Association (WPA) , UK Timber Frame Association (UKTA), Trussed Rafter Association (TRA), Timber Decking and Cladding Association (TDCA), Timber Packaging and Pallet Confederation (TIMCON), Wood Panel Industry Federation (WPIF) and TRADA.

Wood for Good says that it is hoping to secure the buy-in of additional trade bodies ahead of Timber Expo as well as further endorsements as the manifesto is issued to key political contacts and stakeholders over the coming months.

Since its re-launch earlier this year the organisation has also progressed with a number of new educational initiatives for architects including an update of its CPD seminars delivered in conjunction with the Forestry Commission by TRADA and NapierUniversity. More recently progress has been made on improving the RIBA approved CPD modules previously delivered by Wood for Good through the web based TimberAcademy.

John Kissock, chairman of Wood for Good, said: “We’re now beginning to see many of our important new initiatives come to fruition and Timber Expo is the ideal platform for us to showcase them.

“The manifesto itself has evolved from being a Wood for Good project into something which the whole industry can now claim to be its own. Speaking on behalf of such a large section of the sector gives the manifesto enormous weight.

“Meanwhile our lobbying machine is in full swing, and with a number of important new marketing exercises such as our new website nearing completion, our hands on educational work is going from strength to strength.

“This has been a landmark year for our campaign and we’re looking forward to seeing it develop from a solid foundation for further and faster over the coming months.”

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