Support for developing and implementing purchasing policies

ProForest works with a number of businesses, environmental NGOs, and governments to help them develop and implement policies to support responsible procurement and/or investment.  We provide technical advice on policy development and support the implementation of existing policies. We currently operate a help-line service for UK government departments and agencies to support the implementation of the UK government’s timber procurement policy, as well as working with many companies using paper or timber. We also provide support to biofuels and power companies on feedstock sourcing.

Supply chain analysis

A full understanding of the supply chain is the first step to the successful implementation of a responsible purchasing policy.

Many companies have engaged ProForest’s services to help them to work with their own suppliers to trace the origin of their raw materials (eg. to the forest for timber or paper products or the oil palm or sugar cane plantation for biofuels) and to engage with their suppliers along the supply chain to ensure a sustainable source, and an unbroken chain of custody through to the end product. We can advise on options for second party audits or certification of this supply chain.

Supplier visits and audits

Our team of experienced auditors can visit suppliers from farms, plantations and forests to manufacturers and processors to help them understand what is required, assess their compliance with client requirements, provide training or analyze their supply chain. In wood product supply chains we have wide experience, ranging from pulp used in packaging, through high value furniture manufacture, and artisan products. For edible oils we have worked with a range of products and supply routes. We have worked with supply chains which originating in countries as diverse as Indonesia, Russia, China, Western Europe and Latin America and visited suppliers in all of these regions.  We can support the development of supply chain control requirements, and necessary verification systems in any supply chain.

Advising on verification and certification schemes for delivery of policy requirements

ProForest works along side governments, private companies, NGOs and investors

There are an increasing number of existing schemes for tracing and demonstrating sustainability of source origin, or verifying the social and environmental conditions at production and transformation stages of the supply chain, and these are of varying quality and usefulness. ProForest works with governments, private companies, NGOs and investors to help them determine which existing scheme best meets the needs of their specific environmental and social purchasing or investment policies.

Responsible Investment and Purchasing Advice Centre (ReIPAC)

Designed to support businesses without an in-house capacity on responsible procurement and investment, ProForest’s ReIPAC service offers access to a team of experts with up-to-date knowledge on responsible investment and purchasing of wood and other natural resources. The service includes a helpline to provide advice relating to specific purchasing requirement or specifications, and a website that contains regularly-updated information on a range of issues, including governance, illegal logging, protected areas, High Conservation Value Forests, social issues, and the legality or sustainability of different products and sources. It also lists specific country risks and issues, and information on the various verification and certification initiatives. For those with their own internal expertise, ReIPAC can offer specialist support and services to complement the skills available in-house.