The European Sustainable Tropical Timber Coalition
We are an alliance of industry, business, government and NGOs dedicated to increasing European demand for verified sustainable tropical timber. On the following pages you will find information on the environmental, social and economic value of the verified sustainable tropical timber market and trade, sustainable procurement policy, plus statistics, marketing tools and other resources.
Our mission
To grow European sales of verified sustainable tropical timber in order to incentivise responsible forest management in tropical countries.
Our target
To increase the share of the EU tropical timber market taken by verified sustainable material to 50% by 2020.
Growing the market share of verified sustainable tropical timber brings real environmental and social benefits to supplier countries, including for the 1.6 billion people who, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, depend on forests for their livelihoods. It is estimated that if the EU imported 100% verified sustainable primary tropical timber products, at least 16 million ha of forest land would benefit from sustainable management.
Background
When the STTC launched in 2013, tropical timber had a poor reputation in Europe and specifiers and consumers were often unawaret that it could be sustainably sourced from well-managed forests. EU imports were consequently on a downward slide. The STTC was determined to halt and reverse the trend.
Partners
STTC partners range from cities, to timber importers, construction companies and large DIY retailers. They are all committed to the goal of the STTC and have pledged to adopt strategies to increase share of verified sustainable timber from tropical forests in their markets. Also working with the STTC to achieve our goals are the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT), the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF), the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
