A Window on the Forest

Name of project

A window on the forest

Manufacturer

SCA Timber Supply Ltd

Location

Our UK HQ:  Stoke on Trent; our forests, sawmills and planning mills:  across northern Sweden

Project requirements

The need to prove the sustainability of today’s wood windows has its roots in the forests.  Wood window manufacturers serving local authorities and environment-conscious house-builders need to address risk management in the supply chain.  To meet the highest criteria, this means ensuring that timber supplies come from a verified legal and sustainable source. 

Cutting construction-related waste is also a focus of government intent, and is met by today’s modern methods of construction. Wood window manufacturers play their part, in conjunction with timber suppliers, in reducing their own waste impacts.

Solution

SCA Timber supply has worked with leading window manufacturers over the past 2-3 years to help them produce Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified products for their local authority and house-builder customers.  SCA’s 2.6 million hectares of Swedish forest (the size of Wales, to put this in context) have been managed under the FSC system since January 1999.  The company also runs its own tree nurseries supplying 80 million saplings per year for renewing its forests. 

SCA had developed a detailed technical knowledge exchange with its window-manufacturing customers, advising them on cost- and environmentally-effective timber specifications.  SCA has also used its 150 years’ of timber production expertise to develop customer-specific timber window components that help to cut waste and processing stages, thereby saving on timber, time and manufacturing energy. 

Additionally, SCA’s knowledge of certification systems has also been utilised by major window producers in achieving Forest Stewardship Council chain of custody certification for their window products.