PUBLIC PROCUREMENT NEWS

  

News

10 September 2012

Sustainable Timber Action video now available online

An excellent new video details the work and objectives of the Sustainable Timber Action project through interviews, statistics and narration. The high-production value video explains the challenges faced in achieving legal and sustainable forestry and details the effects of illegal timber. The video looks at timber from a holistic perspective, discussing the impact on the environment, economics and labour conditions. An overview of the current state of play of sustainable timber procurement at the local level is also given.

The role of certified labels in helping procurers ensure they purchase only sustainably produced timber is outlined in the video. Challenges raised by non-sustainable and illegal logging include a reduction in income for the local area, a loss of tax revenue and, in some cases, the use of illegal forestry revenue to fund armed conflicts. Environmentally, deforestation accounts for 20 percent of global CO2 emissions and illegal forestry destroys five million hectares of forests each year.

Diego Florin, the Secretary General of FSC Italy, Carmen Rebello Sanchez of the City of Madrid and Simon Clement of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability are interviewed in the video. Mr. Clement describes the project as “designed to help public authorities understand the impact that their consumption practices can have and to give practical guidance.”

To view the video, click here.