Roy Wakeman, OBE, Chairman of the Timber Industry Accord
As a timber sector we have always been at the heart of the economy, providing the earliest tools to ensure our survival, though to the building the boats that enabled us to explore the world to today and the cutting edge engineered products that this fantastic material provides. Our Nation itself has a Heart of Oak. But a strong tradition does not make us old fashioned and around the world there is a growing realisation that timber is not the past, but the future.
This is summed up in the now-famous quote from renowned Architect Michael Green in his recent Ted Talk, “Wood is the most technologically advanced material that we can build with. The Earth grows our food. The earth can grow our homes. It’s an ethical change we have to go through.”
There needs to be a greater appreciation of this in the UK. As we recognise the need to build with Carbon, we must start to recognise the invaluable contribution that timber has to make in developing a sustainable, prosperous economy and a responsible and healthy society with well-being levels reflecting our economic wealth.
Our industry has many discrete sectors, but increasingly it is clear that there is more that unites us than divides us and that we must work together to unleash our full potential.
This is where the Timber Industry Accord comes in – united in a shared vision for a growing timber sector recognised as it should be – as a modern, sustainable and vibrant industry. The Accord is enthused to leave no stone unturned in realising this vision.
Last year at Timber Expo, the Accord hosted a debate on our role in the new Strategy for Construction 2025, investigating how we could work towards supporting this strategy as a sector. We looked at sustainability, new SMART construction techniques such as BIM, the changing workforce, the critical skills shortages and how we can do our bit to help improve the reputation of the UK Construction Industry at home and abroad.
We have reviewed and evolved the elements of this discussion and it provided the bedrock onto which we have built the publication ‘Timber: Growing our Low-Carbon Economy’, a document that underpins the fabulous credentials of timber and the immense potential of this industry, from forestry through to product manufacturers.
This document, a manifesto of sorts, draws out how we already contribute and across the four crucial areas
– Growing our Low Carbon Economy
– Providing sustainable jobs and growth,
– helping to build zero carbon homes efficiently, and
– providing the natural choice for health and well-being
This document is not only a must read, but is a must pass on. It clearly sets down the case for timber in a very accessible way, outlining the ways in which government can get behind our industry by providing 12 core asks.
Through the Accord we have already secured meetings with members of the Government and opposition to introduce the key points and highlight how supporting our sector can deliver for society and the economy. But this is not enough, as we continue to drive home these points we call upon the multitude of businesses that are the timber sector to rise up and use this document to ensure their representatives in Parliament are equipped to represent and recognise the crucial contributions and future benefits of the industry. Much more than a policy document, this is a rallying call, the time to build with carbon is now, the time for change is now, the time for timber is now.
