GFTN-UK: THE YEAR AHEAD

GFTN asks its participants to make continuous improvements. We want to evolve and deliver relevant, credible and influential work to drive change for the forest sector worldwide. Here are our main areas for action in 2017-18.

Supporting sustainable trade

We’ll work with GFTN participants to make the most of their voice in the market. We’ll develop clear actions that suppliers, retailers and consumers can take to raise awareness about the positive impact of supporting sustainable forest trade.

Inspiring companies

After releasing our Timber Scorecard 2017, we’ll find ways to get other companies started on their sustainable timber journeys. In particular, we’ll still focus on the furniture sector and trade associations to encourage them to do more to inform their members about the issues.

Research

We’ll investigate important topics such as how sustainable forest management can be credibly verified in the absence of certification, and what frameworks would be credible. We plan to help inform the market about the right ways to become 100% sustainable, so companies can be confident in proving it.

Campaigning with business

Many UK businesses supported our campaign for a comprehensive EU Timber Regulation. More than 59 of them also pledged to source 100% sustainable timber by 2020. We also challenged policy areas to provide incentives for sustainable forest trade. In 2018, we’ll review this work and convene businesses and other stakeholders to agree the next steps to collaborate for more action.

A guide for business

We’ll develop an informative guide for business about forest landscapes, governance, responsible forestry, protected areas, forest restoration, and how to combat unnecessary deforestation and forest degradation. This will help businesses get engaged in supporting better land-use decision making, through a landscape approach.