On Tuesday 16th October, our Chain of Custody officer was invited to the annual PEFC seminar.
This is always an excellent opportunity to get up to date with the latest news, projects and innovations regarding sustainability and more specifically PEFC.
The four main presentations this year were concentrating on solutions for recycling paper cups, ethical and sustainable fashion through use of wood-based textiles, block chain in an effort to simplify chain of custody and the increased use of timber in contemporary architecture.
Although Border Hardwoods main interest was in the final two areas, it was very interesting to see the efforts and innovations in recycling and ethical fashion!
PEFC are now becoming involved in the textile industry in Spain promoting the benefits of using wood pulp in clothes production. This is significantly better for the environment, using considerably less water within the manufacturing process.
Border Hardwood however, was more interested in the work simplifying the Chain of Custody process.
“This has long been a goal for PEFC and Robin Askey gave an excellent presentation about future possibilities for tracking timber more transparently from source to consumer using block chain” said Border Hardwood Sustainability Officer Tom Hiles.
“However this seems to be some time off and relies on a lot of ground being made up on national organizations buying into the process… but it was good to see that these early steps are being made.”
The seminar also discussed rise in manufactured timber structures. Cross Laminated Timber is a cheap and sustainable building material being used within an increasing amount construction projects across London and the UK for anything from single house to multi-storey buildings.
“From Border Hardwoods perspective, hopefully the sector will grow and it will open up more opportunities for timber merchants with products such as oak cladding,” Commented Tom
All in all the PEFC seminar was a positive experience for Border Hardwood and it was interesting to see what future opportunities may be ahead for the timber industry.
