LONDON, 2014-7-16 — /EPR Retail News/ — Sainsbury’s has been a participant in WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) in the UK since 1995.
All GFTN participants commit to progressively sourcing forest products from well-managed sources.
Sainsbury’s undertakes due diligence to assess and mitigate any risk of illegal and unwanted forest products entering into the UK market from our supply chain. We collect as much information on supply chain sources as possible, and systematically work to eliminate poor sources which may not positively benefit forests as a future resource for people and nature.
To highlight our progress towards meeting our commitments to source well-managed and recycled materials, we’re publishing the status of our current supply chain for various categories of forest goods, as defined by the GFTN.
We hope the transparency of the UK GFTN members about their performance on forest sourcing will prompt others in the sector to follow suit. We also encourage all forest certification systems to continuously improve their performance in delivering responsible forest management.
At present, WWF and GFTN participants believe FSC represents the gold standard and a credible benchmark for other forest certification schemes to match. Our preference is to source increasingly from credibly-certified forests or verified recycled sources.
The European Timber Regulation aims to limit the trade in illegal timber. It provides a baseline of legality as a minimum for forest goods entering the European market and reaching consumers. GFTN participants want to make sure they’re playing their part in reducing the UK footprint on global forest resources, by sourcing sustainably – going beyond a compliance-only approach.
Our forest products reported for the 2013 calendar year are as follows:
- 3% Source Verified (including e.g. PEFC purchased with Chain of Custody)
- 80% Credibly Certified (e.g. FSC purchased with Chain of Custody)
- 1% Pre-consumer Recycled
- 9% Post-consumer Recycled
Our responsible forest product procurement policy can be found here:
http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/responsibility/case-studies/2013/sustainable-timber/
Scope of reporting
- All own or store brand forest products for resale
Challenges
- Achieving complete traceability within complex supply chains such as for paper and composite products.
- Availability of certified material in certain sourcing regions, particularly FSC volumes and species
Priorities
- Continuing compliance with the EU Timber Regulations
- Converting further product categories to sustainably certified material
- Achieving full chain of custody within specific product supply chains.