Chatham House Illegal Logging Update 25 January 2007

Chatham House Illegal Logging Update 25 January 2007 Public Procurement Policies for Wood Products and Harmonisation Process Between NL, UK and DK Janneke de Jong Neil Judd

Green public procurement NL Other countries like UK and DK have already developed GPPcriteria for timber. 2004 Cabinet decision in the Netherlands on GPP of timber: preferably sustainable and at least legal 2005 BRL accepted by 26 stakeholders 2006 . . . NGO’s stept out of BRL proces. . 2006 Decision to use UK-criteria for legality and accept the 5 certification systems + Cat. B as proof of legality 2007 Awaiting advise Equivalence assessment board on on which certification systems are equivalent to the BRL

Green Procurement in DK - milestones since mid 1990 s Until 2005: Ø 50 procurement guidelines and many supporting facilities developed, Ø Parliament decision on Tropical Timber (2001) Ø Guidelines & Information campaign on Tropical Timber (2003 -2004) Ø Evaluation of guidelines on Tropical Timber (2005) 2006: Ø 9 -point-plan on legal and sustainable timber (all timber); Ø temporary guidance on legal timber (all timber); Ø review of criteria (exploring scope for more harmonised approaches) 2007 (planned activities): Ø public consultation on reviewed criteria; Ø assessment of evidence; Ø new and more product specific guidance (“meeting users where there needs are. . ”)

Harmonisation UK, DK and NL • Call for harmonisation from industry • Different meetings on GPP in Copenhagen, Berlin, London. . . • March 2006 first harmonisation meeting in Amsterdam • September 2006 second harmonisation meeting in Copenhagen • Aim is to identify common grounds for timber public procurement policies. • Not an easy process keeping in mind the individual development processes and achieved compromises in each country.

Policy background DK Objective of policy Relevant Procurement Policy NL UK To promote SFM All public institutions should buy legal and sustainable timber – and shall pursue environmental goals Central government shall buy legal and sustainable timber where possible Central government shall seek to buy legal and sustainable timber Wood and paper used by contractors Under review Power or energy for public buyers Under review Unclear Under review Wood and paper to public buyers

Requirements forest management: legality (in broad outline) EUFLEGT DK NL UK Labour, Tenure rights etc. Payment of all relevant royalties and taxes Compliance with CITES Legal harvest rights Forest management Compliance with national Environment and local laws on: Briefing note 09

Requirements forest management: sustainability (in broad outline) DK NL UK 1. Legal, policy and institutional framework 2. Extent of forest resources ( ) 3. Forest health and vitality 4. Production functions of forest resources 5. Protection functions of forest resources 6. Biological diversity 7. Socio-economic functions Under review

Key elements of criteria for assessment of certification schemes (category A): DK (under review) Standard setting -ISO Guide 59 -Open consultative process and consensus ‘as far as possible’ NL UK -ISO Guide 59 -Balanced representation and decision making -Accredited Certification Accreditation COC Labelling body -Consistency with applicable ISO Guides (62, 65, 66) or equivalent - Consultation with stakeholders - Information from certification reports publicly available - Consistency with ISO 17011 or equivalent -Accredited body complying with ISO Guide 65 or equivalent -Recycled material of controlled origin - Clear and non-misleading rules

UK Category A review results, 2006 Scheme Legal Sustainable CSA Yes FSC Yes Only products & lines containing >70% certified or recycled raw material. MTCC Yes No PEFC Yes Only products & lines containing >70% certified or recycled raw material. SFI Yes Only products & lines containing >70% certified or recycled raw material.

Requirements for alternative means of assurance (Category B): l EU procurement regulations require adequate alternatives to certification to be accepted l DK has launched preliminary guidance for tropical timber (declarations from suppliers, sub-suppliers, authorities etc. ) l UK guidance on different types of Category B evidence now available l Both ‘Category B schemes’ and one-off documentation DK Assessment by impartial party NL UK

Concluding remarks The UK l Finalised first review of Category A evidence (certification schemes) l Produced guidance on the use of Category B evidence l Helpline and ongoing training programme well-used l Starting a monitoring programme to support and assess implementation l More proactive work with local authorities

Concluding remarks The Netherlands l National Assessment Guidelines (BRL) finalised 12 -11 -2005 l First meeting Equivalence Assessment board 10 -11 -2006 l 7 experts (economic, social/cultural, forest management, normalisation, ecological etc. ) l Test run with 6 certification schemes from October-May l Approval BRL (publication in Gazette) l Formal assessments l Launch of Dutch procurement policy

Progress with harmonisation l Legality definitions more or less harmonised already l DK, NL and UK l FLEGT l Legality potential next steps: l Common criteria to use with legality definition l Process for assessment of evidence and decision-making l Sustainability potential next steps: l Further discussions ongoing on how to move forward l Options for harmonisation are being considered in DK review process

Tak www. sns. dk Thank you Dank u www. defra. gov. uk www. vrom. nl