Chain of custody a priority for Jewson

Jewson has moved to create a national network of branches offering full chain of custody certification for softwood timber.
The company has established the certification at 55 of its 450 branches, and intends to have a total of 95 accredited by April next year.
"This means we will be able to deliver anywhere on the UK mainland within 48 hours," said Steve Millward, environmental director for parent company Saint-Gobain Building Distribution.
Chain of custody certification is essential to guarantee the products come from legal or sustainable sources, he said. "It removes the possibility of unscrupulous middlemen substituting illegal or unsustainable timber. Having timber that is certified as sustainable and legal is not a bit of good without an audit trail from the timber you have in your hand to the forest of origin," he added.
The move is in response to growing insistence from the government that all timber products used on its building projects should be proven as legal, and preferably from sustainable sources as well.
Millward also foresees growth from the commercial sector: "It will grow considerably over the next year or two. We want a chain of branches and a good supply chain in anticipation of this."