Thémis -the timber market servey
Encourage and record sustainable procurement by timber traders.
To position timber as one of the solutions to help address climate change, and use the momentum to promote the use of timber, there should be no debate about sustainable sourcing. Progressive Timber Trade Federations (TTFs) in Europe should encourage their members only to trade timber harvested from certified sustainably managed forests. Furthermore, this supports their members to comply with legal requirements including the upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
To increase the share of certified sustainable timber, rigid insight in data is needed on the sourcing of timber traders in Europe. For this reason, Probos and partners created Thémis, the online tool for user-friendly timber market research. Thémis was first developed in 2020/2021 as an instrument to monitor progress, analyze data, and create transparency within the timber sector. Thémis builds on 15 years of experience monitoring members of the Netherlands Timber Trade Association. In Thémis, TTF member companies report their purchasing numbers yearly, with a focus on the share of certified sustainable timber.
Performing this kind of monitoring has added value for all actors. Companies get insight into their own development of this (major) part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR), they can benchmark against the targets set by the TTF or the average score, and download their annual results as a declaration. TTFs get a better view of the performance of their members. The availability of data helps TTFs to target interventions and add value to the membership. Governments aiming to support SFM and reduce imported deforestation are keen to monitor the consumption of responsibly sourced products, also for targeting interventions. If the outcome shows a high percentage originating from sustainably managed forests, it helps to positively brand the sector and timber in general.
To increase impact and improve the business case for sustainable forest management (SFM), the development of sustainable purchasing policies and ambitious purchasing targets by timber federations for their members is essential. Some TTFs have already formulated a sustainability policy, incl. targets. This helps growing sales of timber harvested from sustainably managed forests and in turn incentivizes SFM. However, to increase impact and improve the business case of SFM, it is essential that more TTFs adopt such a policy and set ambitious goals regarding certified sustainable timber sourcing.
The overall goal of the project is to support SFM in producer countries by introducing, improving and monitoring progress within sustainable purchasing policies of TTF’s in key (tropical) timber consuming countries in Europe.
The portal can be accessed with a login via https://timbermarketsurvey.com/
Information
Probos expert(s) involved: Eli Prins, Mark van Benthem, Robin Zwijgers, Jasper Velthuizen, Sander Teeuwen
Member TTFs: Netherlands Timber Trade Association (VVNH), Netherlands Trade Association for the Carpentry Industry (NBVT), International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT), Le Commerce du Bois (LCB), Fedustria, Danish Timber Trade Federation (DTTF)
Partners: Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Congo Basin Programme for Promotion of Certified Sustainable Forest Management (PPECF), IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, and the European Sustainable Tropical Timber Coalition (STTC)
Year(s): 2020 - onwards
Results
Annual reports for the Netherlands Timber Trade Association (VVNH)
STTC Newsletter - Thémis tool tracks European sustainable timber procurement
STTC Newsletter - Data can drive verified sustainable timber procurement
ETTF Newsletter - Thémis to increase European sustainable procurement transparency