Timber and wood derived products
About our commitment to the procurement of timber and wood products positively supports responsible forest management.
Brighton & Hove City Council has a responsibility to ensure that the procurement of timber and wood products positively supports responsible forest management.
The council has joined the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) ‘What would you choose’ campaign and is committed to improving the sustainability of its wood and timber purchases.
The council has made the Gold pledge which means that we will only buy recycled, certified or sustainable and legal timber products across all our services, and we will set up a monitoring system to ensure the forest products we procure meet the requirements of our policy.
To ensure that the council delivers these commitments, we have created a Sustainable Timber Procurement Policy and the WWF will be auditing the council’s performance against the policy.
The following Minimum Buying Standards give clear and simple guidance on what products should be bought or supplied.
Minimum buying standards for timber and wood derived products
Product group |
Minimum standards |
All Paper |
All paper purchased must be Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF), totally Chlorine Free (TCF) will also be accepted. |
Copying and graphic paper |
All paper must be made from 100% recovered paper fibres. |
Paper for printed publications |
All paper, including paper used for externally printed publications, to be made from a minimum 75% recovered paper fibres. |
Paper based cleaning products e.g. kitchen and toilet tissue |
All paper must be made from 100% post consumer recycled paper fibres. |
Paper-based stationery products e.g. notepads, diaries, post it notes |
All paper, including paper used for externally printed publications, to be made from a minimum 75% recovered paper fibres. |
Envelopes |
All paper must be made from 100% post consumer recycled paper fibres |
Furniture with timber content |
Only timber and timber products made from independently verifiable legal and sustainable sources such as FSC or PEFC, or from a FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) licensed partner can be purchased. Recycled timber is also accepted. |
Timber |
Only timber sourced from independently verifiable legal and sustainable sources or FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) licensed partner should be purchased. Recycled timber is also accepted. |