Shoppers browsing the racks and shelves of Britain’s home stores and supermarkets are increasingly familiar with the FSC logo. It is found on everything from toilet tissue, tea packaging, tool handles, to teak garden furniture, and of course timber pure and simple.
Some certified businesses actively use it in their wider marketing, notably food-to-clothing giant Marks & Spencer (M&S) and lead DIY retailer B&Q.
GfK NOP research has found that 50% of UK adults now recognise the label. However, fewer are probably aware that the FSC scheme today increasingly extends beyond certified goods to those very racks and shelves they’re displayed on.
“With retailers ever more engaged with FSC in products, packaging and promotion, shop fit-out becomes the logical next Corporate Social Responsibility step,” says FSC UK Communications Manager Tallulah Chapman. Consequently, she adds, shopfitting is now among the most active sectors in seeking certification.
NEPCon has certified several major UK shopfitters and is experiencing mounting interest from others, says manager of NEPCon UK & Ireland Elisa Colpo. “Retailers increasingly realise they can support responsible forestry, not only when building stores, but every time they refurbish. It’s part of a trend towards sustainability encompassing the whole retail experience.”
Retailers are raising the bar
Shopfitters’ retail clients set this ball rolling, with M&S cited most often as the company blazing the trail. In 2007, M&S announced its 100-point Plan A environmental and social performance strategy.
Within this, timber-based products, including store fittings and building components, were a ‘specific target’.
“We aimed for all wood for store construction and fit to be from FSC certified, or otherwise protected forests, or recycled, by 2012,” says Plan A Property Manager Rachel Mellows. Initially this proved difficult as none of M&S’s 38 shopfitters or main contractors were certified. So, together with NEPCon and Rainforest Alliance, it launched a supplier sourcing strategy.
“We developed monthly supplier reporting tools for percentages of FSC-certified or recycled timber procured and ran education workshops with NEPCon and the Rainforest Alliance,” says Ms Mellows.
Each year since then, M&S has raised the bar, until its 2015 Property Wood Policy stipulates that all wood-based fit-out, construction and display materials must be FSC 100%, FSC Mix or recycled.
According to Sustainability Manager-Products Julia Griffin, B&Q is equally committed.
“We were the first major UK retailer to ensure all timber products were from well-managed forests or recycled,” she says. “Today 100% of our timber and paper-based products are CoC-backed, and we work specifically with goods-not-for-resale suppliers to help them achieve this too. So all timber-based store shell, fit out and shop fitting equipment materials are also now certified – FSC-only for tropical hardwood.”
With big name retailers taking such an uncompromising stance – and GAP, Tesco, John Lewis and Next are reported adopting similar positions – shopfitters admit certification is approaching a necessity.
“Customers, notably M&S, which we’ve supplied for 30 years, clearly influenced our decision,” says David Kirkup, Cardinal group Associate Director (Joinery).
“But we already had strict environmental policies and certification sat with them comfortably.”
It dovetailed with the ethos of fellow shopfitter SFD too. “Our environmental strategy already covered everything from materials sourcing to diverting waste from landfill,” saysMannequin Buying Manager Sharon Terry.
Workable challenges
That’s not to say getting certified has been without challenges for these companies.
Certainly, Cardinal faced an uphill task as one of shopfitting’s certification pioneers. “It was six years ago and we had no examples to follow!” says Mr Kirkup. “We had to interpret it for ourselves.”
What also made the process complex was Cardinal’s scale and international spread. “We have two UK plants, but also manufacturing partners in China, where we have an international sales office, so they had to be certified too,” says Mr Kirkup. “However, the advantage of FSC’s system is that it’s global, so from Manchester I can instantly check suppliers’ CoC certification status anywhere in the world.”
“NEPCon undertakes our yearly audit, which is a full day checking paper work and stock, but thanks to our systems, hasn’t given us any problems,” says Mr Kirkup.
SFD is equally positive about the certification experience, although Ms Terry also admits it wasn’t all straightforward, not least because of deadlines in the business.
“We work across the UK, China, Middle East and Europe and project times range from months, to just days,” she says. “As a result, we operate night shifts at our manufacturing and joinery plants 50% of the time.”
SFD, which according to Joinery Managing Director Tim Wood is capable of working with any timber variety, reports a similar experience. It has not had to drop any of its panel products selection, or timber species, which range from cherry to yew.
SFD decided to go for certification because it is “an absolute requirement for some clients, like Bodyshop and M&S”, but also because it already “took sustainability very seriously.”
Another natural concern about certification for any timber-using manufacturer is whether it will limit raw materials choice and hence design options. But shopfitters say this hasn’t been a significant issue and become less so as certification among their suppliers has increased.
“We initially had issues with certain laminates,” said Mr Kirkup. “However the situation has improved and we’re now sourcing 80% of materials fully certified and aiming for 100%. And while there’s a premium for some certified hardwoods, there’s none for standard panel products where certified is becoming the norm.”
SFD reports a similar experience. It has not had to drop any of its panel products selection, or timber species, which range from cherry to yew.
Wider benefits
At the same time, companies say they’ve found FSC certification a valuable net to filter out suspect or high risk suppliers.
“We buy most of our solid wood or wood veneer from the UK because of lead times, notably oak for customers like John Lewis,” says Display Plan Project Buyer Jacqui Cawley. “But we also buy elsewhere, and do now avoid certain sources, such as Romania. We’re also sceptical of Chinese supply, which we’ve used, but only reputable FSC companies as part of our sustainability plan.”
Overall, shopfitters that have gone for certification clearly believe it’s been a worthwhile exercise; beneficial for market reputation and an increasingly valuable criteria for doing business.
Cardinal and SFD also recognise wider management benefits. “It’s always valuable to step away from a business to analyse and challenge what you’re doing,” says Mr Kirkup. “Certification presents an opportunity to do that top to bottom.”
Ms Terry agrees. “It’s a useful tool to home in on supply lines and monitor operations.”
Cardinal additionally finds its FSC experience, and NEPCon’s expertise, valuable in its compliance with the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) on imported goods.
A growing trend
The consensus is that certification in shopfitting can only grow in the UK. Another factor expected to drive shopfitting further down the certification route are the environmental concerns of the shopfitters themselves.
“We recently watched Al Gore talk on combating climatic changes, and it made a real impact,” says Ms Terry. “There’s increasing realisation we all need to play our part and if shopfitting’s design and construction methods serve from environmental principles, we can change the face of the industry.”
“For me this isn’t just about business,” concludes Mr Kirkup. “I’ve got grandchildren and I’m increasingly thinking about the world we’re leaving behind.”
This article was written by timber industry expert and journalist Mike Jeffree on behalf of NEPCon. Click here to see the original.