The UK Government’s Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has issued a statement confirming the opening of a consultation about strengthening the current UK timber regulations.
The consultation will be launched later this year. It follows months of discussion over the enhancement of existing laws and the soon-to-be enforced EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) at the end of 2026.
Reinforcing due diligence
DEFRA proposes requiring businesses in Great Britain with an annual turnover of more than £1 million that use forest commodities and wood products to carry out due diligence to ensure those products have been produced in compliance with relevant local laws.
“Timber Development UK (TDUK) strongly supports the core objective of upgrading and rebooting our laws to combat global deforestation and degradation,” commented David Hopkins, CEO of TDUK. “Aligning our standards with evolving global frameworks – including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and updates to the US Lacey Act – is a positive step that will ultimately assist the UK timber industry in international business transactions and supports the growth of sustainable forest management globally.”
Bringing in the EUDR
Darren Mayes, TDUK’s Sustainability and Supply Chain Compliance Manager, points out the importance that the EUDR is not simply ‘cut and pasted’ into UK law. “We are already seeing significant international friction as producer countries struggle with the EU’s requirements,” he notes.
“This risks undermining the efforts of these countries to strengthen their forestry practices, and the confidence of those nations to invest in their supply chains. We would encourage the UK to use this opportunity to build on its global leadership in this area – bridging the EU, US, and those producing countries which are currently on existing pathways to strengthen their forestry laws.”
Implications for Northern Ireland
Also mentioned in the statement is confirmation that EU deforestation regulations will apply to Northern Irish business, meaning any company importing from the British mainland into Northern Ireland will have to adapt to EU law in their processes.
“Since Brexit, TDUK and our members have worked tirelessly on our own robust responsible sourcing policies tailored to the UK market,” David Hopkins said. “We must preserve the years of hard work to strengthen these vital supply chains. Using sustainably sourced wood is one of our greatest weapons against climate change, but its benefits can only be realised by working with all of our partners to improve global forestry practices.”
“We urge the government to use the upcoming consultation to design a framework that is pragmatic, fair, and achievable for businesses of all sizes, and our many partner countries. We look forward to working with the Government on this challenge.”
After two years or more of discussion, workshops and constant changes to EUDR, this signal from DEFRA is a positive signal to the British market – it provides an opportunity to ensure the UK is not left behind by stronger regulation in other regions.
You can learn more about the EUDR by watching our EUDR webinar series here
