Environmental Policy

Last Updated: June 2024

Timber & Wood based products form a very significant part of our Activities; we therefore consider it essential that we take an informed approach to responsible purchasing. 

We purchase Timber & Wood based products from all around the world. Our policy is to purchase from well managed forest sources. However, we do recognise that some areas of the world represent a greater environmental risk than others in respect of Timber Harvesting.

We are committed to sourcing all our stocked wood based products from legal sources. Where our customer demands dictate that we procure such products from an area of greater risk, our approach is to only work with our suppliers that can demonstrate a proactive stance in their own procurement of legal and also certified products.

At Richard Russell, we acknowledge the importance of auditable independent certification throughout the supply chain process and strive to introduce schemes we see relevant to our position in the supply chain. It is our intention to only source products from legal origins and to help eliminate wood products originating from illegal or High Conservation forest sources.

We understand there are many recognised Forest Certification Bodies and given that common standards can be achieved mutual recognition of these bodies is vital.

We aim to provide clear and specific product information on all wood based products we sell. This means that, on request, we aim to inform customers about the origin of our stocks along with the provision of clear information of any good forest management practice and, where applicable, certified products. Whilst it is our intention to give preference to our suppliers that can show such evidence, we also accept that we may need to work with those who are less able but are genuinely seeking to attain high standards of their own procurement.

In order to further assist our conforming to EU Law originally introduced in March 2013 (EUTR, now UKTR) we are members of Timber Development UK and as such we are required to conform to their Responsible Purchasing Policy (RPP). The RPP provides a framework to analyze the risk of illegal timber entering into the supply chain. It introduces a phased approach to progressively source increasing proportions of timber products from credible and verified legal and sustainable sources and supports us in promoting good practice procurement policies to customers. We make verification checks on our supply chain and conduct comprehensive analysis of all our Purchases to ensure we are working proactively in all areas to eliminate the entry of illegal timber products into the supply chain; this is all part of our Due Diligence process. Furthermore to bolster these significant efforts, many aspects of our purchases from both the EU & Worldwide are subject to an external audit on an annual basis.

We currently hold both FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody. Please see below to download these certifications, as well as other credentials associated with our membership of TDUK and our Responsible Purchasing Policy.