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It applied for certification after Bunnings told VicForests this would be a good way to “secure the necessary social licence to operate into the future”, warning it was “unable to source from suppliers {which] cannot demonstrate progress” towards responsible timber procurement.
But auditors for the council have knocked back VicForests’ bid to obtain “controlled wood certification”, the lowest level of green endorsement on offer.
VicForests was informed in March that it had missed the mark, but is yet to publicly disclose the setback.
Spokesman Alex Messina said it was still assessing the audit report and would release its full outcomes in due course.
Robert Hrubes, executive vice-president for forestry auditors SCS Global Services, said he could not go into detail about why VicForests had failed, “but the overriding fact is that VicForests was not found to be in conformance with the FSC Controlled Wood standard in the December audit”.
“It is my understanding that VicForests is now working on undertaking corrective actions that, if completed satisfactorily, could result in the achievement of controlled wood certification,” Dr Hrubes said.
Clive Duncan, Bunnings’ director of marketing and merchandise, said the company would wait for the formal release of the audit.
But Mr Duncan said Bunnings has zero tolerance for illegally logged timber and wanted to ensure all of its timber came from well-managed forests.
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“As part of this, our timber procurement policy requires our suppliers to demonstrate progress toward appropriate certification through measurable and timely action plans,” he said.
Victoria’s forestry industry estimates that it directly employs more than 21,000 people.
In Parliament last week, the Andrews government’s minister for agriculture, Jaala Pulford, likened Forest Stewardship Council certification to some poultry producers’ shift to free range production to meet consumer expectations.
“The preferences of consumers are many and varied, and different consumers will have different ethical considerations that they weigh when considering their own purchase choices,” Ms Pulford said.
VicForests has heavily reduced the amount of timber it supplies to sawmills across the state, and forecasts a further cut in supply levels in future years to about 130,000 cubic metres annually, in part because of increased protection for the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum and other threatened species.
The Turnbull government has initiated a review of the Leadbeater’s possum’s vulnerability to extinction, with a view to potentially increasing native timber harvesting if the animal is assessed to be less endangered.
In a draft assessment last month, Australia’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee found the possum is still critically endangered, a status affording the highest level of protection under law.
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