GTF Forest Products Association Needs Assessment - Final Forest Products... · broad variety of...

FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION NEEDS ASSESSMENTWORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTEJULY 2015

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

WRI’s Forest Legality Alliance (FLA) and the Global Timber Forum (GTF) aim to promote a healthy global forest products market that is strengthened by trade in sustainable and legal wood. To realize this objective, they work with forest products companies and associations to strengthen capacity and support the implementation of legal and sustainable forest production and trade. In order to increase their impact and leverage industry partnerships, the GTF enlisted the help of WRI to conduct a needs assessment of associations from around the world.

METHODOLOGY

WRI created a survey combining open-ended, ranking and multiple choice questions (see Appendix I). At the 2015 meeting of the Global Timber Forum, held from June 9-11 in Shanghai, China (http://gtf-info.com/), WRI staff interviewed a number of association representatives. Although no global comprehensive database of forest products associations exists yet, the GTF has been building a robust contact list of associations over the last two years. In total, 22 associations were interviewed from around the world, representing a broad variety of wood products, species, types of members, size of membership and mission. Because of the small sample size, results are not meant to be statistically significant. Rather, they provide an indication of current priorities and values of a broad group of industry associations and form the basis of further study. Survey results are presented here.

RESULTS

Camara Nacional de la

Industria Maderera

ProChile

QWEB

IWPA

AIMEX

CBF

UNIFOR

Gremial Forestal

GPEIASMINDO

Philippine Exporters

ATIF

CNFPIA

CTWPDA

TTF ETTF

Zambia Natl Assn

Sawmillers

Kumasi Wood Cluster

IFFB

Vietnam Timber &

Forest Products

Lao Natl Wood Prod.

Assn

Myanma Forest’s Products

Merchants Fed.

I. ASSOCIATION SNAPSHOT

• The leaders of 22 associations from around the world (see map) were interviewed.

• The interviewed associations are quite variable in size. They range from umbrella organizations with member associations comprising a large percentage of the wood trade of a country to relatively small organizations representing many fewer companies and a much lower trade volume. Many of the associations do not keep statistics on volume of wood that their members trade.

MEMBER TYPE

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Producers Exporters Importers Manufacturers Retailers Other

% of Surveyed Associations

Member Types

Member Types of Surveyed Associations

Most of the surveyed associations include a mix of company types, including forest producers, exporters, importers, manufacturers and retailers within their membership. Some associations also include distributors and agents in their membership.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Pulp &Paper Logs or sawnwood Veneers Flooring Engineered Wood Furniture Biomass


Product Type

Product Coverage of Surveyed Associations

With a few exceptions, most of the surveyed associations have members that trade in a variety of products. The most commonly traded products are logs, sawnwood and flooring; the least commonly traded product is biomass.

PRODUCT TYPE

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Softwood Tropical Hardwood Temperate Hardwood Plantation Wood Composite mixed products


Traded Wood Product Types

Traded Wood Product Types of Surveyed Associations

Most of the surveyed associations’ members trade in a variety of forest species, with tropical hardwood and plantation wood being the most commonly traded species.

WOOD TYPE

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Africa North America South & CentralAmerica

East Asia Southeast Asia Central Asia/India Europe (other thanRussia)


Product Source

Product Source of Surveyed Associations

About half of the surveyed associations have members that primarily source wood domestically. For those with a high percentage of importers, much of the wood is coming from Southeast Asia, Latin America and North America, with species composition varying by product category.

PRODUCT SOURCE

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Africa North America South & CentralAmerica

East Asia Southeast Asia Central Asia/India Europe (other thanRussia)


Export Markets

Export Markets of Surveyed Associations

For exporters, the United States, China and the European Union generally represent the largest markets among the surveyed associations. Most of the surveyed associations exist to provide members with services unrelated to legality or sustainability. Some of these services include quality control assistance, trade promotion and facilitation and lobbying.

EXPORT MARKET

II. LEVEL OF AWARENESS, MARKET DEMAND, AND ASSOCIATION RESPONSE

The associations were asked a series of questions to gauge the level of awareness of legality requirements and sustainability forest product certification, market demand for legal or sustainable products, and where the association needs the most assistance.

HOW OFTEN ARE YOUR MEMBERS ASKED BY CUSTOMERS ABOUT PRODUCT LEGALITY?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Rarely ‐1 2 Sometimes‐3 4 Often ‐5

Num

ber o

f Surveyed Associations

Most interviewees are asked sometimes, particularly from customers based in the European Union, United States or Australia, but rarely by customers in other geographic areas such as India, Africa or China.

Of the respondents who rated this question low, some noted that their members are certified and customers are now satisfied that they have a relatively low risk of illegal wood in their supply. Others noted that only certain industries, such as construction or consumer brands, are asking, but there is little pressure from business to business suppliers.

HOW OFTEN ARE YOUR MEMBERS ASKED BY CUSTOMERS ABOUT PRODUCT SUSTAINABILITY OR CERTIFICATION?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Rarely ‐1 2 Sometimes‐3 4 Often‐5

Num

ber o


Responses were more mixed than those of the legality question, with high demand in certain western markets, and for particular products like furniture and construction materials.

LEGALITY AWARENESS

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Your members are aware ofrelevant forest legality laws andstandards in producer countries

and export markets

You have a code of conduct foryour members requiring legality of

sourcing (please share)

Your members are aware ofrelevant forest certification

standards


Most of the associations’ members are aware of legality requirements and certification standards. Most of the associations also have membership codes of conducts.

Associations were asked about their members’ awareness of legality requirements and sustainable forest product certification. They were also asked if members were required to sign a code of conduct.

WHICH NGOS AND/OR INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ARE YOU WORKING WITH ON FOREST LEGALITY OR SUSTAINABILITY?

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

GTF WWF FAO ITTO WRI IUCN Local NGOs

Num

ber o

f Surveyed Association

Organization

Most associations are working with at least one global NGO or IGO. WWF and the FAO were the most commonly cited partners. Many associations were also partnering with local NGOs.

III. WHERE DOES THE ASSOCIATION NEED SUPPORT?

The associations were asked a series of questions to determine their level of support need (on a scale of 1-5) concerning different aspects of sustainability and legality.

With a few exceptions, most of the associations would like more funding to support their legality and sustainability activities. After that, the area with the highest need is in communicating and making a solid business case for market demand for legal and sustainable wood products to members. Other areas that rated high on the needs scale included support in training members and in helping establish due diligence systems and supplier assurance.

Importers and processors stated that they need more help understanding producer country forest law. Exporters and processors, on the other hand, need help understanding export forest trade law and helping members adopt SFM standards.


Training members on legality or sustainability

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 ‐ low needs 2 3 ‐ some needs 4 5 ‐ a lot of needs

Num

berof Surveryed

Associatio

ns


Due diligence or supplier legality assurance support

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5


Num

berof Surveryed

Associatio

ns


Communicating market demand for legal / sustainable wood to members

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9


Num

berof Surveryed

Associatio

ns


Understanding forest legality laws in producer countries

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Num

berof Surveryed

Associatio

ns


Understanding forest legality trade laws in export markets

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7


Num

berof Surveryed

Associatio

ns


Helping members' suppliers adopt Sustainable Forest Management standards

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8


Num

berof Surveryed

Associatio

ns

Associations were asked, “If you could only get help in one category, other than funding, which category would it be?”

The majority of the organizations indicated that they would like support in due diligence/supplier assurance systems, followed by training members and understanding producer country forest laws. Several associations described needs unique to their situation as indicated above.

Other Top Priority Needs:

• Make FLEGT and FSC less onerous, less expensive and more practical for producer countries.

• Provide market access and links for certified products and building consumer demand for legal wood.

• Internet and communication networks for outreach.

• Improve product quality to assure market access.

• Association organizational support

TOP PRIORITY

21%

16%

16%10%

37%

Due Diligence/SupplierAssuranceUnderstanding ProducerCountry Forest LawTraining

Business Case toMembersOther

OTHER COMMENTS

• Need more focused support for small enterprises

• Need more focused support for processing countries

• Need better data and market analyses to make the economic business case for legal & sustainable wood to members, as well as to show the environmental/social benefits of tropical wood vs. non-wood competing products (LCAs)

• Need more reliable data from governments on producer country forest laws

• Need people with expertise, like foresters, to do the training and provide guidance to our members for verifying paperwork from suppliers, especially for new markets

• Would be helpful for EUTR to set up a free platform in China to help implement due diligence systems

• Tours of processors/buyers to producer countries on legal compliance best practices holds a lot of promise

IV. FUTURE OUTLOOK

Associations were asked “Do you see a future role for your association to address global forest legality and sustainability?”

The response was a unanimous “yes” with some caveats for some respondents:

– Product quality a priority issue for certain associations– Product sustainability and the LCA approach of wood vs. other

competing products– Items such as tariffs reduction, quarantine issues, competitive

trade, supporting importers now need more focus– Need to focus on government forest and land reform and concerns

with competing land interests such as palm oil

"THAT IS OUR JOB…WE ARE EXPORT ORIENTED, SO LEGALITY IS A

QUESTION OF TO BE OR NOT TO BE. MANY OF OUR ENTERPRISES WOULD

DIE IF WE DON'T ADDRESS LEGALITY."

Vietnam Timber & Forest Product Association

“COUNTRIES ARE CARING MORE AND MORE ABOUT LEGALITY AND

SUSTAINABILITY… WE'RE NOT ONLY DOING IT FOR EXPORT, BUT I AM

DOING IT FOR MY CHILDREN'S CHILDREN… WE NEED TO SEE OURSELVES AS GUARDIANS."

Philippines Exporters Foundation

WHAT ASSOCIATIONS WANT FROM GTF

Associations were asked “What supporting role would you like GTF and other organizations to play?”

Several associations indicated they would like GTF to play a role in global policy, advocacy and providing a link with governmental processes. Many associations also said they would like GTF to serve as a networking platform.

Other responses include:• Provide market pricing, trend and technical information• Create market links and promote the legal industry to consumers• Provide general support in helping companies in processing countries to

conduct due diligence and better manage the chain of custody• Help strengthen smaller local and regional associations• Work with FSC and EU FLEGT to make requirements more cost-

effective and less onerous in terms of paperwork• Bring more individual companies into the network

WHAT ASSOCIATIONS WANT FROM GTF

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Market Info Global Policy Advocacy& Coordination

Funding Networking Platform Facilitate Market Links Other

Num

ber o


V. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

• Timber industry and forest products associations play an important role in raising industry awareness and building capacity for due care and more sustainable forest products.

• The 22 associations we interviewed are very diverse and their main reason for existing is not for reasons of sustainability/legality. However, members of these associations are generally aware of the importance of sustainability and legality, and the associations support their members in addressing these issues in their business practices.

• They also have diverse support needs. Some associations need a lot of help across the board, even on basic things like internet access and organizational design. Others are quite advanced and need support on issues such as building consumer demand for legal/sustainable products.

• Most of the associations want access to funding and many want help with making the business case for greater focus on addressing legality requirements, supporting due diligence systems/supplier assurance, and training.

• Exporters and processors want help understanding forest trade laws and streamlining legality and sustainability standards to make the process more cost-effective and less burdensome. Importers and processors want help understanding producer country forest laws and authenticating documentation. Exporters also want better market recognition and trade links for their legal and sustainable wood.

• One recommendation for GTF is to consider a broader study of associations around the world to better understand where the larger body of associations are, how they function and what they need.

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