EU ban: Be prepared for due diligence
It is not currently illegal to trade illegally-harvested timber in the EU or the UK, but this is about to change. The Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) brings us up to date…
IN 2008, the European Commission proposed a regulation to help strengthen efforts to reduce illegal timber products coming into the EU. In October 2010, the EU Council of Ministers formally adopted the Illegal Timber Regulation (ITR). This will apply to all Member States from the 3 March 2013. Unlike the Lacey Act in the US – which makes it a crime to trade illegal plant products – this new EU regulation requires operators first placing timber and timber products on the EU market to adopt systems of ‘due diligence’ to ensure they minimise the risk of placing illegal timber products on the market. ‘Placing on the market’ refers to any form of supply of timber and timber products on the EU internal market for distribution or use, whether the transaction if paid or free of charge. Failure to provide appropriate due diligence systems to ensure legality of timber and wood products purchased can now result in legal sanction.
The new ITR is good news for contractors to the public sector who have to ensure compliance
with the UK Government’s timber procurement policy which requires all timber to be from legal and sustainable or FLEGT licensed sources. The regulation will strengthen efforts to halt illegal logging which is causing serious environmental damage and biodiversity loss, and undermining sustainable forest management and will thereby help the construction industry to ensure legality and sustainability of timber purchased.
The ITR will require operators based in the EU selling timber and timber products, whether they originate from the EU or are imported, to ensure that the timber has been harvested according to the relevant laws of the country of harvest. Traders along the supply chain within the EU are required to ensure traceability of products by keeping trading records.
The ITR applies to a wide range of timber and timber products, including solid timber products,
plywood and board products, furniture, pulp and paper. The only exceptions are recycled products. A detailed list of products falling under the scope of the regulation is in the Regulation Annex.
As a construction company, managing your supplies of timber and timber products to ensure legality and sustainability will help you deliver compliance with both the EU ITR and the UK public procurement policy. The EU legislation is not designed to ensure sustainability of all timber on the UK and EU market. It is, however, expected to create strong incentives for suppliers and contractors to ensure that illegal timber is excluded and to increase sustainable timber in their purchases.
CPET supports the implementation of the UK government’s timber procurement policy and
can help you assess evidence of legality and sustainability of timber supplied for public sector
projects. The forest certification schemes Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme
for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC) have been assessed by CPET and both
ensure legality and sustainability as defined by the UK government criteria. When you source
from FSC or PEFC chain of custody certified suppliers, and ensure that what they are supplying
is certified, you can be confident that you are in compliance with the government’s timber
procurement policy. CPET can assess and advise on other types of evidence on a case-by-case basis.
To ensure compliance with the ITR, Member States are encouraged to provide implementation guidance and technical support on due diligence systems. Competent authorities in each Member State will be in place to monitor the implementation of the ITR. Organisations can use their own due diligence systems or use systems offered by Monitoring Organisations (MOs).
CPET is available to answer questions related to the new EU Illegal Timber Regulation. Please contact the CPET helpline on 01865 243766 or email: cpet@proforest.net. CPET provides updates and further details on the EU Illegal Timber Regulation visit: www.cpet.org.uk.
