Sourcing Wood Products

International Wood Magazine & Buyers Guide was created to help connect specifiers of all kinds – architects, manufacturers, builders, and enthusiasts – with the most beautiful and highest performing wood products for their projects.

As the market for globally-sourced wood products has expanded, it is only natural that many specifiers are interested in educating themselves about the sourcing and manufacturing of the materials they are looking to purchase. IWPA asked several of our industry's leading compliance experts about how they see sourcing and compliance trends and consumer education evolving in recent years and into the future. While the products our industry supplies are nearly infinite both with respect to species – ranging from White Oak to Purpleheart to Yellow Cedar – and products such as lumber, decking, panel products and flooring, many of the sourcing and compliance trends we have seen bear striking similarities.

WE INVITED FIVE INDUSTRY EXPERTS TO PROVIDE THEIR PERSPECTIVES:

ELIZABETH BALDWIN – Environmental Compliance Officer for Metropolitan Hardwood Floors, an importer, manufacturer, and distributor of multiple types of flooring

WAYNE LIN – Director of Regulatory Supplier Compliance for Floor & Decor, a specialty retailer of hard surface flooring offering an assortment of tile, wood, laminate, and natural stone flooring along with decorative and installation accessories

BRIAN LOTZ – Director of Business Development, Environmental Compliance, and Architectural Sales for Timber Holdings, which specializes in the development of naturally durable hardwood products and markets in the U.S.

CHET MCKINNEY – Executive Vice President of McVantage of Guyana, which produces and sells tropical hardwood products, including lumber, timbers, and pilings from the Iwokrama forest of Guyana

COLIN MILLER – Chief Compliance Manager for Clarke Veneers and Plywood, an international trading company largely focused on rotary veneer and a diverse portfolio of panel solutions

The experts agreed that industry leaders are devoting additional resources to sustainability and compliance with requirements such as formaldehyde emissions limits for panel products and the legal sourcing requirements of the U.S. Lacey Act. To help industry members meet this demand, IWPA has developed its Wood Trade Compliance Training and Due Diligence Tools program to educate companies about how they can incorporate what has come to be known as Due Care compliance into their business practices. "The industry continues to grow in its sophistication in developing due diligence systems and sustainable sourcing initiatives. Hundreds of wood trade professionals have completed our course in the first three years of the program," said IWPA Executive Director Cindy Squires.

An example of this commitment is Metropolitan's decision to designate Baldwin a full-time Environmental Compliance Officer in 2008 and to build up a program with dozens of on-site inspectors who supervise all aspects of production by checking material inputs and monitoring production as it happens.

Timber Holdings has developed its corporate "Green by Nature…Build with Conscience" Due Care Environmental Compliance Program which includes a combination of Life Cycle Analysis, Third-party Risk Assessment, Chain of Custody Auditing, Verification of Legal Origin and compliance with domestic laws and regulations.

Additionally, constant improvement is key. As Lin stated, "Floor & Decor is continuously looking for ways to strengthen our compliance programs." His team accomplishes this through extensive training of both employees and suppliers, frequent site visits, and by engaging third party auditors and inspectors.

Independent certification can be used to verify sustainable sourcing and provide an important signal to consumers. By controlling all levels of production from harvest to sale, McVantage is able to achieve 100% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification to show that its products have been sourced and processed legally and meet applicable requirements. Combining certification with reduced impact logging techniques allows McVantage to supply products "from a forest that is as healthy and thriving after harvest as it was before we touched it" according to McKinney.

As customer sophistication with respect to commercial and legal standards have increased, Clarke Veneers and Plywoods' compliance practices have become more sophisticated as well. "Third-party certification alone is not enough, so we also apply risk assessment and information management concepts from the broader regulatory compliance landscape, including fields like finance and IT, to conduct what we call our 360-degree supplier risk assessment" as part of the company's proprietary Verified Vendor Legality Assurance System.

Working closely with a knowledgeable supplier will allow you to make an informed decision regarding the best option for your project.

All experts agreed that you should ask questions, be it about production quality, species characteristics, or compliance issues. "All wood is not created equal…We work on product education every day," said Lotz. Baldwin noted that "in the flooring industry, we get a lot of questions regarding formaldehyde or VOCs generally. We have invested a great deal in providing information about these issues to our customers and the end consumer."

The final common theme that ran through our interviews is just how remarkable wood is when harvested, processed, dried, manufactured, and installed with care. As Miller concluded, "I encourage all to continue using wood as a beautiful, renewable resource." Added McKinney, "our products DO grow on trees!"

If you are interested in a deep dive on wood trade compliance we would encourage you to participate in IWPA Wood Trade Compliance Training courses. Additional information available on page 64 and at www.IWPAwood.org.