Wood evokes instant association with sustainability and environmental benefits – and rightly so. This natural material is renewable and recyclable, non-toxic and biodegradable – and it captures carbon from the atmosphere, undoubtedly surpassing any other building material in the market. However, timber’s sustainability profile is much more comprehensive than that, and industry professionals who look to specify sustainable timber products have to consider broader aspects of sustainability – like the negative effects of deforestation or illegal and unethical timber sourcing practices.
That’s where certifications come in. Issued by independent third parties, they are the primary – and the most reliable – way for specifiers to find sustainable products. “Certifications are the best way to demonstrate to the market that the timber is sustainably sourced, and the forests are being managed in a sustainable way,” says Dr Trevor Innes, GM Technical & Sustainability for Timberlink – one of Australia’s leading plantation pine timber producers.
In Australia, there are two types of environmental certification specifiers should look out for. Forest Management Certification ensures that the forests are being managed in a sustainable and legal manner, while the Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification pertains to the movement of the forest products all the way from certified forests and production chain to the end consumer. This particular certification traces the life cycle of timber to the very origin of the product, ensuring sustainable practices have been adhered to along the way.
These certifications are offered by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). In Australia, Responsible Wood is the National Governing Body for PEFC.
For Timberlink, ensuring that their timber is sustainably sourced is paramount. With the notion of sustainability ingrained in the organisation's DNA, Timberlink has a comprehensive and multi-layered sustainability agenda, aligned with the United Nations Global Compact’s Sustainable Developments Goals – and the performance is tracked, measured and assessed on a monthly basis.
In addition, Timberlink has committed to Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) verified Greenhouse Gas emission reduction targets. SBTi is an important collaborative effort of not-for-profit CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), that defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting and independently assesses and approves companies’ targets.
Very much in line with these meaningful and comprehensive commitments, Timberlink sources all their logs only from pine plantations in Tasmania and South Australia, managed to ensure an ongoing supply of sustainable, renewable and – very importantly – legally sourced pine resources. The majority of logs supplied to their Australian manufacturing facilities are dual certified FSC® and PEFC/Responsible Wood from forests owned by New Forests-administered investment trusts.
Timberlink holds Responsible Wood Chain of Custody certification – Responsible Wood, in turn, holds mutual recognition status with the international PEFC system - for solid wood products and by-products, covering both their Australian manufacturing facilities. Similarly, they hold an FSC® Chain of Custody and Controlled Wood Certificate for production and distribution of solid wood, wood chips and all by-products, covering both their Australian manufacturing facilities and the distribution centres.
In addition to that, Timberlink is set to start producing its new NeXTimber CLT and GLT products next year, at a state-of-the-art facility being built in South Australia, adjacent to their Tarpeena manufacturing facility. The NeXTimber range will be made with Timberlink’s dual-certified structural timber. The Forest and Wood Products Australia Environmental Product Declaration estimates that each cubic metre of structural pine used, removes and locks up 699 kg of CO2 from our atmosphere
A reflection of Timberlink’s broader sustainability commitment and indication of the brand’s unique market position where environmental, ethical and social aspects of product manufacturing are involved, these certifications make it easy for industry professionals to specify timber products that actively contribute to creating a better, and more sustainable future for all.
