THE LAST WORD
RICHARD NELSON
Chains of
Responsibility
By RICHARD NELSON, MD of Woodscape Group
e live in an age where taking
responsibility for both personal and
corporate actions, and how our behaviour
affects the world around us, is at the forefront of
public attention more than it has ever been before.
This can feel overwhelming, particularly for
SMEs, who are already dealing with a mountain
of admin and pressures on the margins from all
sides. However, it’s also an opportunity to put
your company up there with the very best, leading
the way by actively re-shaping your company in
a way only SMEs can. The example you set as a
business may seem small, but if every business
pushes forwards, even in a small way, the cumulative
difference to the corporate landscape can be
significant.
This is why many years ago Woodscape took the
lead in the Street Furniture sector in obtaining
FSC Chain of Custody Certification. Not because
the market demanded it, not because it was
commercially beneficial, but because it was ethically
the right thing to do. FSC CoC to us is a reflection
of what our business represents and how we see
ourselves, as a responsible, world aware company,
eager to ensure our products reach the market
without doing harm to the forests of the world.
While I do see many companies making the
excellent purchasing decision of FSC certified
timber, which certainly contributes to forest
preservation efforts, I am concerned that I continue
to see utilisation of timber certifications, and
accrediations of all types, in a mis-leading way.
There are many consumers of timber products
who rightly assume that as suppliers we will act with
the very best of intentions, as they may only have
passing knowledge of the timber industry, and don’t
fully appreciate the assurances that chain of custody
delivers. As timber product suppliers it is our duty
not to use that lack of knowledge to take advantage
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of customers, to not ‘work around’ the needs of
tender specifications and legal requirements, but
rather to embrace the opportunity to be honest and
forthright in how we represent the materials at the
very core of our industry.
Pursuing full Chain Of Custody certification
from the FSC demonstrates a higher level of
commitment, and allows you to truly deliver
certified timber products to your customers, that
then allows your customers to fulfil their ethical
and corporate responsibility needs without a trace
of doubt, knowing that they can track the timber
through every stage in the supply chain from the
forest to the final user. Your customers can be sure
of working with a company that helps protect the
economy of communities local to the managed
forests, the rights of the workers, and the well-being
of the forests themselves.
Of course, there is responsibility on the side of
the customer too. Those choosing timber products
need to not be content with tertiary details about
the materials involved, but to expect a higher level of
responsibility from everyone they work with.
For manufacturers, expect your suppliers to be
the very best they can be, so that you can take that
forwards into everything your company does, and
continue that dedication through to your customer
communication, helping to guide them to making a
thoroughly considered, ethically grounded decision,
with the end result being projects with the very best
pedigree.
Finally, for all the SMEs out there, find the area
of your market, of your products, of your customers,
that you can make a small, positive change to, and
that positivity can become part of everything you do,
and those chains of responsibility won’t seem like a
heavy weight, but rather a solid anchor, part of the
foundations of something incredibly rewarding for
your company.