What Are the Benefits of Sustainable Timber?
At Internal Doors we take our responsibility to the environment very seriously.
We ensure that everything we pass on to our customers is of fantastic quality and made using only the finest timber, garnered from sustainable sources.
Why We Use Sustainable Timber…
Trees are essential to human existence because they capture CO2 from the atmosphere and expel oxygen. As trees age, they are capable of transforming one tonne of CO2 into 0.7 tonnes of oxygen per cubic meter of growth. The tree then stores carbon dioxide within the wood for as long as the tree – and any product created from it – lives.
Generally accepted as a leading cause of climate change; increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere is a worrying side-effect of modern life.
As we’ve already mentioned taking advantage of sustainable timber initiatives creates a positive impact on the environment, but there are also a number of other benefits:
- Wood is an excellent insulator with fantastic thermal properties – namely low thermal conductivity and high thermal mass. In plain English, this means that our range of internal doors naturally contribute to the heating and cooling of a room –reducing carbon footprint and energy bills.
- Sustainable timber is of great benefit to the British economy. In Scotland, which contains some of the most densely forested areas in the UK, timber contributes thousands of jobs and millions of pounds to the UK economy.
- The adaptable nature of wood allows us to manufacture creative designs, which would be highly restricted if alternative materials or lower quality wood were used.
- The UK government is increasingly pushing forward with legislation to limit the environmental impact of business premises. Using sustainable timber products means that businesses can improve their chance of meeting these government regulations.
What Factors Define Sustainable Timber?
Sustainable timber is harvested from professionally managed forests, which means that once a tree is cut down a new one is planted in its place.
This kind of initiative also has a fantastic impact on forest diversity, which ensures that animals and plant habitats are protected. This means that future generations of humans, animals and plants can live and enjoy the forest while creating a source for sustainable timber for a long time to come.
The Forest Stewardship Council certification scheme sets clearly defined ethics on what constitutes high-quality, sustainable timber.
These include:
- An unwavering commitment to forest sustainability – ensuring all harvested trees are replaced by a new sapling or cultivating the right environment for new trees to generate naturally.
- Protecting the indigenous animal and plant population to ensure they can feed, create habitats and breed free from outside interference.
- Ensuring employees that run and harvest the forest are based locally, fairly paid, trained and provided with the correct safety equipment.
The great work by the FSC has been recognised and is the only sustainable timber scheme to receive endorsements from WWF, Greenpeace and The Woodland Trust.
How We Make Sure We're Purchasing The Right Timber…
We ensure that we only buy timber that is traceable all along the supply chain. This means that we can guarantee you’re purchasing a door from us that has been sourced from a responsibly managed forest and is approved under the Forest Stewardship Council Certification or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.
These schemes are the authorities on how forests should be managed and maintained. A lot can happen between when a tree is cut down to when it is fitted in your home, which is why transportation, manufacturing and distribution are controlled by a strict chain of custody agreement.
Sustainable materials are becoming more and more prevalent nowadays. Businesses are realising now that they have must give something back – this, fortunately, is now becoming the norm.
We’ve always ensured that our products are of the highest quality. Which means that sourcing timber from organisations that share our ethos is the only option for us.
If you would like to learn more about of commitment to the environment and how that translates to our products, then why not give us a call or pop down to our Hinckley showroom to take advantage of the knowledge from one of our experts?
- Information is accurate at time of publishing, however, may be subject to change.