He also spoke about the geographical differences in the understanding of the
environmental and economic benefits of using wood. While this concept is
generally appreciated by the public in Scotland, he said, there is far less
understanding in Wales and Northern Ireland and hardly any understanding in
England.
Goodall concluded by saying forest-based industries have “What the Government
wants – low carbon businesses that support well-managed forests”, and said it was
essential for all sectors to work together to identify and deal with issues that arise
to prevent this message being understood.
Fons Ceelart, secretary general of FEFPEB, gave the view from Europe, reminding
TIMCON delegates of the extent of the European timber packaging and pallets
business and presenting them with an overview of the organisation’s current
activities.
FEFPEB estimates that 450 million new pallets are manufactured in Europe, using
24 million square metres of timber every year, and directly employs around 80,000
people, and indirectly a further 300,000. These facts, coupled with the
environmental advantages of using timber packaging, said Ceelart, have formed
the basis of FEFPEB’s new pan-European Packaging from Nature campaign
Meanwhile, John White, Chief executive of the Timber Trade Federation,
presented an update on the EU Timber Regulation Platform (EUTR), which comes
into force on March 3rd next year, and the traceability requirements traders will
need to have in place.
In his address to the meeting, TIMCON president John Dye said working with other
industry bodies is now a fundamental part of TIMCON’s work. “Size and having a
united front really does matter, especially when lobbying and making our interest
clear and our voices heard,” he said.
“The biggest and most important change that we are seeing in the timber industry
over the last year is that all relevant associations are joining forces to create a
larger and stronger lobbying voice – while retaining their identities.”
Source: TIMCON.
