The London Hardwood Club
The London Hardwood Club

18th May 2016

With over 50 attendees, the update on EUTR and FLEGT by Michael Kearney and

Chris Hunter from Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was clearly a

topic of interest for LHC members.

After getting to grips with a name change from NMRO to Regulatory Delivery

and reassuring us that the pint and the inch were still being looked after,

members were updated on the enforcement based approach that the department

is taking to implement the EUTR.

An overview of the project based approach being taken was explained and details

given of some of the specific areas that had been studied such as Cameroon,

Rosewood and Oak Flooring. The imminent release of the guidance document was

trailed and this should raise awareness of methodology of enforcement.

We were given a brief overview of how UK companies were engaged after being

identified through customs data. It was explained that the period for responses

was likely to be reduced as it was felt due diligence was sometimes only being

carried out once companies were engaged.

Michael Kearney said that although gaps remain the UK timber trade should be

applauded for overall doing a good job. He explained that there was a tendency to

rely on a volume of (sometimes untranslated) documents without fully

understanding their importance. He said sometimes operators needed to stand

back and take a more ‘holistic’ approach to DD. Hardwood lumber products had by

definition a more straightforward supply chain than composite products.

Many companies were undertaking a thorough Risk Assessment, but sometimes

just weren’t recoding clearly what they were doing and explaining the perceived

level of risk or otherwise. In school terms ‘showing your workings’ was key!

Corruption was stated to be the most persistently challenging aspect. Michael had

recently returned from a visit to the Congo basin where he heard reports of

widespread industrial organised illegal logging. It was up to operators to

demonstrate why they felt they ‘were doing it right’ in such difficult origin

countries. 

We are located at:

Our meetings are held at the following location or via zoom while Covid 19 restrictions apply :

The Globe
83 Moorgate 
London 
EC2N 6SA

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