Travis Perkins, a leading UK builders’ merchant, has joined Timber Development UK while celebrating its 20th consecutive year of certification of the timber chain of custody. TDUK found out more.
Travis Perkins, the national UK builders’ merchant with a network of more than 500 branches, is one of the newest members of TDUK, having joined the organisation earlier this year during its 20th consecutive year of certification of its timber chain of custody.
As one of the biggest providers of timber for construction projects in the UK, Travis Perkins prides itself on ensuring it complies with and maintains a timber chain of custody, to give customers peace of mind that the timber they purchase is sourced and handled in a sustainable way.
This includes regular third-party audits to provide certification to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and its license code FSC-C014726, as well as the Programme for the Endorsement of the Forest Certification (PEFC) schemes.
Rosie Wise, Category Director of Timber and Joinery at Travis Perkins, explains: “Travis Perkins has been in the timber business for more than 200 years, and we take our responsibility to the environment, suppliers and customers very seriously. We were one of the first businesses to sign up to the timber chain of custody 20 years ago. We were trailblazers then and we are still leading the way now.
“Maintaining a timber chain of custody guarantees accountability and transparency across the supply chain, preventing illegal logging, advocating for sustainable forestry practices, and upholding the integrity of our products.”
Joining TDUK
The merchant joined TDUK in April 2024 as a way to enable it to work more collaboratively with suppliers and the extended timber supply chain to help shape the future of the built environment in a more sustainable way.
Rosie continues: “By working with TDUK Travis Perkins seeks to help drive improvements and decarbonisation in its supply chain, develop colleague knowledge and skills, and provide access to market intelligence and support to develop longer-term supply chain planning.
“With timber becoming an increasingly important category for our customers as they seek to decarbonise construction and comply with the UK government’s ‘Timber in Construction roadmap’, we will be supporting our customers by ensuring we have the right knowledge to guide them.
“We remain focused on being the best-in-class general merchant for timber, and our TDUK membership is an important part of this.”
Initiatives being planned to help improve this knowledge include developing a merchant training programme with the TDUK team to ensure every Travis Perkins colleague has the best and latest knowledge and information and can give customers the best advice and service.
Rosie says: “Timber is a fundamental category for us and we see TDUK as a body that will help us drive improvements.
“Our experts are getting involved in the key committees, but we also want to learn from the TDUK team, and the wider membership, while sharing our expertise and experience with them.”
Ensuring electric forklift safety
As part of its continuing commitment to sustainability and safety, Travis Perkins plc is fitting its latest batch of electric forklift trucks with SIVAS – an industry-first, ‘best-in-test’ sound alert – to improve safety for colleagues and customers in branch.
A total of 1,200 forklifts across the Group are now electric, and around half of these have now been fitted with SIVAS to address any potential concerns about the electric forklifts’ operational quietness compared to their diesel engine counterparts, and the potential safety risks this could pose. The SIVAS sound alert mirrors how warning sounds have also been fitted to electric vehicles to warn off pedestrians and other road users.
The sound alert was developed as part of a sound study commissioned by Travis Perkins plc’s Technical Fleet Director, Karl Wilshaw, on behalf of the Group. The study was conducted by the University of Salford Manchester’s specialist acoustics testing team. SIVAS came out top when tested by the Group’s forklift drivers based on its detectable and unique sound.
Reader in Acoustical Engineering at the University of Salford in Manchester, Dr Antonio Torija Martinez, says: “We developed three sounds based on our existing psychoacoustic expertise and tested them in highly realistic virtual environments with the Group’s forklift truck drivers. The SIVAS sound was selected from the shortlist of three based on its high level of detectability and positive reception by forklift operators.”
Richard Byrne, HSE & Fleet Director at Travis Perkins plc, adds: “This sound study has solved a problem that applies to so many in our industry, and we plan to share this information with the industry to promote best practice.
“Besides saving direct emissions, switching from diesel to electric forklifts also makes for a quieter work environment for colleagues and customers who visit our branches. Operationally, they are more reliable and incur less downtime, which means they also enable us to serve our customers more efficiently.”
Electric forklift trucks can now be found in the Group’s Travis Perkins, CCF, BSS, Keyline and Staircraft businesses.
Switching out the Group’s diesel forklift trucks with electric is one of the largest change programmes of its kind in the UK and forms part of the Group’s decarbonisation roadmap to meet its 1.5°-aligned, Science Based Targets initiative accredited carbon reduction targets. This project is expected to further reduce the Group’s Scope 1 carbon emissions by up to 6,600 tonnes per year.
* This article was originally published in Supplying Timber magazine.
