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Evaluation of timber procurement guidelines

Summary and key conclusions

 

Background

Since 1996, The Danish Ministry of the Environment has launched approximately 50 environmental guidelines on public purchasing of various products. The guidelines are important tools for the implementation of green procurement policies in Denmark . One of these is the guide on public purchase of tropical timber with the technical background document linked to it, see:

These guidelines aim to assist public purchasers in ensuring that the tropical timber they buy is legally and sustainably produced.

The Government carried out an evaluation of the guidelines on tropical timber from September 2005 to January 2006. A broad contact group was established, and members were invited to follow the evaluation and provide input to the work.  The contact group comprised a broad range of stakeholders including representatives from timber trade federations, timber purchase federations, major certification schemes, ENGO’s as well as procurement specialists from other EU countries and the European Commission.

In addition, an advisory Steering Committee has followed the evaluation process more closely and provided recommendations for follow-up-actions to the Danish Minister for the Environment.

6 February 2006 Minister Connie Hedegaard launched a plan for follow-up actions.

Tasks given in the evaluation

Ministry of the Environment, Danish Forest and Nature Agency initiated three separate projects for the evaluation:

A.An analysis of the use of the guidelines on tropical timber and an assessment of options for and consequences of possible follow up actions, including expansion of the guidelines to cover all kinds of timber and the introduction of more binding rules for public purchase of timber.

B.A comparison with policies and guidelines in UK , Netherlands , France and Germany , and an analysis of the need and scope for amendments and updates, also due to developments in the field of certification etc.

C.A review of the judicial basis for guidelines on timber procurement, in particular regarding issues like scope for exclusive focus on tropical timber and the inclusion of social criteria in requirements for sustainably produced timber. Judicial aspects of introducing more binding rules for public purchase were also looked at.

Summary of results

 

Project A

The user survey indicates that the present guidelines on public purchase of tropical timber is followed by only a limited number of public purchasers. The report suggests that significant improvements may be achieved through more differentiated efforts with more operational guidance, which to a higher extent is targeted towards different needs among different types of user groups. The value of the combined DK consumption of timber and timber products is estimated to appr. DKK 28 billion out of which public consumption covers roughly DKK 2,6 billion or slightly less than 10 percent. Estimated extra costs for prove of legal and/or sustainable timber varies greatly between different types of timber products, and no average estimate is provided. 

Project A

Project B

The report shows that the Netherlands, France and UK has developed public procurement policies for timber with the same overall objective as in the case of DK, namely that the timber purchased should be produced in a legal and sustainable manner. Most other EU countries seem not to be actively pursuing public procurement policies for timber. The analysis shows that the timber procurement policies in France, the UK and the Netherlands covers all types of timber and that in these countries more or less binding rules for state departments have been introduced. No countries covered by the study seem to have introduced binding rules for local governments. The analysis also indicates that when it comes to the more specific requirements, substantial differences are seen between the timber purchasing policies in the four countries. Differences include definitions of legal and sustainable timber and requirements for documentation. For example, whilst social concerns has been omitted from the UK requirements for sustainable timber such concerns are included in the DK model. The analysis also points at some inconsistencies and less clear requirements in the DK model, as well as the need for updates in the guidance on certification schemes.

Project B:

Project C

The report analyses various options for introducing more binding rules for public timber procurement in DK, without taking on any position as to the whether this is desirable or not. Regarding scope of the procurement policy it is concluded that exclusive focus on tropical timber may be problematic. Regarding social concerns it is concluded that whilst these are considered important elements in requirements for sustainable timber it is also a judicially difficult criterion to deal with, about which more precise guidance as to how it can be included is needed.

Project C:

 

Recommendations from the Steering Committee

The Steering Committee acknowledge a number of good reasons for expanding the Danish timber procurement policy to all kinds of timber, but does also indicate a number of important challenges to address to that end. On the condition that these challenges can be satisfactorily met, the Committee concludes that the Danish policy may be expanded to all kinds of timber. The committee recommends as a line of sight that all public institutions, where possible, should make sure that all timber and timber products they purchase, is legally and sustainably produced.

The committee failed to agree on joint recommendations regarding needs, if any, for the introduction of more binding rules specifically laid down for state department’s purchase of timber.

Some members of the committee (WWF Denmark, Nepenthes and the municipality of Copenhagen) recommends more binding obligations specifically for timber purchase in the state, laid down by central government (so that state departments should be obliged to actively seek to buy legally and sustainably produced timber). Other members of the committee (The Danish Forest Association, Danish Timber Trade Federation, Træets Arbejdsgiverforening,Local Government Denmark (LGDK), National Procurement Ltd. – Denmark and Danish Ports) recommends that the Danish procurement policy for timber follows the general legal framework for green procurement in Denmark, so that until further the policy should continue on a primarily voluntary basis. The majority also recommends that in case more binding obligations for public procurement of timber would be considered, that these be included as integrated elements in the development of general green procurement policies in DK and primarily through encouragement and voluntary agreements.

The committee agrees to recommend a number of follow up actions. These include:

In light of project A, the committee recommends to significantly improve the present guidance on purchase of legally and sustainably produced timber. Areas to address include more operational guidelines with more concrete examples for contracts and tenders and which reflect better the different needs among different types of user groups.

In light of the comparisons in project B, the committee recommends a review and update of the DK definitions for legal and sustainable timber, with a view to maintain all main criteria included in the present DK guidelines. The committee also recommends a review of the criteria for and assessments of certification schemes and alternative means of documentation. To that end the committee recommends the development of more precise criteria, but not necessarily more detailed criteria. The committee recommends a continued exchange of experience with other countries and relevant international bodies who engage actively in pursuing procurement policies for timber, with a view to explore options for more harmonised approaches to definitions of legal and sustainable timber, means for documentation as well as information to producers. 

In light of project C the Committee recommends further examination of judicial aspects on the inclusion of various criteria for sustainable timber, in particular social criteria. The committee recommends that more precise guidance as to how to do this will be developed.

 

9-point-plan from Environment Minister Connie Hedegaard and temporary guidance on legal timber

6 February 2006 Environment minister Connie Hedegaard launched a 9-point-plan for public purchase of legal and sustainable timber in Denmark .

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