Immediate Media Co. has been a participant in WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) in the UK since 2013.

All GFTN participants commit to progressively sourcing forest products from well-managed sources.

Immediate Media Co. undertakes due diligence to assess and mitigate any risk of illegal and unwanted forest products entering into the UK market from our supply chain. We collect as much information on supply chain sources as possible, and systematically work to eliminate poor sources which may not positively benefit forests as a future resource for people and nature.

To highlight our progress towards meeting our commitments to source well-managed and recycled materials, we’re publishing the status of our current supply chain for various categories of forest goods, as defined by the GFTN.

We hope the transparency of the UK GFTN members about their performance on forest sourcing will prompt others in the sector to follow suit. We also encourage all forest certification systems to continuously improve their performance in delivering responsible forest management.

At present, WWF and GFTN participants believe FSC represents the gold standard and a credible benchmark for other forest certification schemes to match. Our preference is to source increasingly from credibly-certified forests or verified recycled sources.

The European Timber Regulation aims to limit the trade in illegal timber. It provides a baseline of legality as a minimum for forest goods entering the European market and reaching consumers. GFTN participants want to make sure they’re playing their part in reducing the UK footprint on global forest resources, by sourcing sustainably – going beyond a compliance-only approach.

Our forest products reported for the 2015 calendar year are as follows:

27.3% Source Verified (including e.g. PEFC purchased with Chain of Custody)

72.7% Credibly Certified (e.g. FSC purchased with Chain of Custody)

0% Recycled

In the past 3 years, our procurement of forest products, towards more responsible sourcing, has progressed as shown below.

2013

% Limited Knowledge of Source = 0.5; % Source Assessed = 0; % Source Verified = 30.80; % Credibly Certified = 68.70; % Pre Consumer Recycled = 0; % Post Consumer Recycled = 0

2014

% Limited Knowledge of Source = 0; % Source Assessed = 0; % Source Verified = 29.26; % Credibly Certified = 70.74; % Pre Consumer Recycled = 0; % Post Consumer Recycled = 0

2015

% Limited Knowledge of Source = 0; % Source Assessed = 0; % Source Verified = 27.3; % Credibly Certified = 72.70; % Pre Consumer Recycled = 0; % Post Consumer Recycled = 0

Scope of reporting

All forest products procured and used by Immediate Media for the purpose of developing and building sustainable customer relationships.

Challenges

Immediate Media Co is committed to the responsible purchasing of forest products for all our paper requirements and our long-term intention is to source all forest products that we purchase from well-managed forests which have been certified to credible certification standards.

This commitment will be realised through a step-by-step approach to responsible purchasing which utilises the best available techniques and information.

Immediate will not knowingly source forest products from:

• Forests or forest product suppliers that do not comply with all relevant national and international legislation relating to the trade in forest products;
• High Conservation Value Forests where these are recognised nationally or regionally, unless these forests are progressing towards credible forest certification in a time-bound, step-by-step and transparent manner;
• Protected areas, parks or similar areas where harvesting operations are not complementary to responsible forest management;
• Forests which are currently being converted to other land uses, or forests that have been converted since 1994; or
• Forests which are in areas of armed conflict or civil unrest where there is a direct relationship between the forest products trade and the funding of such conflicts.

Priorities

Immediate Media Co remains dedicated to meeting our commitments as a member of GFTN and to source our paper products from well managed sources. As such our priorities for 2015 are:

• Scrutinise all suppliers of forest products purchased by the business
• Seek information as to the source of all forest products and evaluate this against our stated policy
• Work with and encourage suppliers and forest sources in a process of time bound, transparent, step-by-step commitment to credible certification (such as WWF Producer Group members)
• Work with key stakeholders to ensure that best practice is followed
• Increasing supply of FSC certified stock by lobbying supplier to support this certification scheme

Our Policy

Immediate Media Co responsible forest product procurement policy can be found here.