Environmental and Sustainability
Timbmet’s position as one of the leading suppliers of timber and timber based products in the UK brings with it a great responsibility towards the environment. Timbmet are market leaders in our commitment to the sustainability and legality of our supply base and to responsible business solutions.
We are rigorous in our approach to environmental responsibility and demanding in our expectations of others. Illegal logging and / or poor forest management pose a huge threat to the sustainability of forests, the survival of their eco-systems and the economy of producer countries. These practices, which include over-harvesting, non-payment of taxes, theft or environmental damage present a major problem to the legitimate timber industry by damaging its reputation and depressing prices. Our purchasing and compliance teams assure correct due diligence is carried out on all suppliers new and old to ensure product is received which complies with our rigorous demands.
As a naturally renewable resource, timber is the most environmentally friendly raw material available today.
We are proud that timber and timber based products are at the heart of our business, but are not complacent about the impact of the company’s operations. Only by striving to minimise any environmental impact will we ensure a future that benefits the company, customers, stakeholders and the public.
Packaging
We are registered with an accredited environmental company to discharge our obligations under the Packaging & Waste (Producer Responsibility) Regulations. Our methodologies for complying with the regulations have been audited and approved by the Environment Agency.
We continue to work with suppliers to:
- Eliminate unnecessary packaging
- Reduce packaging where possible
- Re-use packaging for the onward distribution of product
- Where packaging must be bought, to specify only recycled product
Waste management & recycling
Great efforts have been made in recent years to reduce the amount of waste we generate during the distribution process. Even so, some waste is an inevitable by-product of our business processes. Focus has therefore turned towards the extent to which our waste is recycled.
We work with a major national waste management company to increase progressively the proportion of waste being sent for recycling.
We ensure that we satisfy the requirements of the Waste (England & Wales) Regulations 2011 and provide suitable waste containers to collect the waste and allow segregation in accordance with the waste management hierarchy prescribes by the Regulations: Prevention, re-use, recycling and disposal. In this context, ‘other recovery’ is delegated to our waste management contractors.
Pollution
We accept our responsibility to protect the quality of land, air and water. Our distribution process does not produce liquid waste likely to create contamination of land or water, however our vehicle emissions will have an impact on the air. We have addressed this by establishing a modern fleet of diesel vehicles for both the sales force and for distribution. We recognise that continuous investment in modern vehicles is the only way to take advantage of developing engine technologies, bringing reductions in both energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Legality and Certification
Responsible purchasing is an essential core value of our business.
Throughout our business, Timbmet work to the requirements of recognised Chain of Custody systems, which are a certified way of making sure that a product has come from a defined and sustainable source. The majority of our products are certified to ensure that they have been legally harvested from sustainably managed forests. All our product sources are appraised using detailed due diligence procedures to ensure that they meet the criteria for legality set by the United Kingdom Timber Regulation (UKTR).
We operate under two sets of globally recognised certification standards: Forest Stewardship Council ® (FSC-C020677), and the Programme of Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes PEFC (PEFC/16-37-345). Both of these schemes promote sustainable forest and plantation management by using product tracking processes.
Look for our FSC-Certified Products.
Whilst legality is an absolute minimum requirement when working with new suppliers, preference is always given to those who can also demonstrate sustainability, as well as an ethical attitude that reflects our own.
Our FSC Chain of Custody number is INT-COC-002347, INT-CW-002347.
Download our FSC Certificate*
Our PEFC Chain of Custody number is CATG-PEFC-COC-617
Download our PEFC Certificate
Quality Assurance
Timbmet fully certified to ISO9001:2015.
All our main processes are controlled through a certified Quality Management System, approved to ISO9001:2015.
This is your guarantee that all of the processes are risk-assessed and developed to deliver legal compliance and first class customer service, properly documented, professionally implemented and internally audited. The processes also cover the Construction Products Regulation, the UK Timber Regulation and finance.
Our QMS is certified by CATG as meeting the requirements of the standard. Our systems and processes have been certified to ISO9001:2015 or its predecessors for nearly 30 years.
Our certificate number CATG-ISO-1020.
Download our ISO9001:2015 BMS Certificate