---

Northern Ireland Office

Answer

Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department are independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as coming from a sustainable source. [110156] Mr. Ingram: The FSC label is accepted by buyers as demonstrating that timber and timber products have come from sustainably managed sources. However, it is not practicable to require that all paper and timber products purchased by the Department are independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council because this might discriminate against any equally valid schemes and therefore be against procurement rules. Specifying just the FSC label might also result in us failing to meet all our requirements as currently only a tiny percentage of timber products are currently FSC certified. That is why the Department's policy statement for greening its operations suggests that evidence of sustainability might take the form of a certificate issued under a credible, preferably independent, verification scheme; or other documents which demonstrate the operation of an environmental management system incorporating forest management criteria that conform with internationally recognised principles such as the Helsinki Guidelines.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

345 c835-6W; 110156

Session

1999-00

Subjects

Environment protection Government departments Paper Sustainable development Timber Northern Ireland Office Forest products Forest Stewardship Council