AT The Solid Wood Flooring Company, we care considerably about sustainability. It’s in our DNA.
That’s why we’ve made it a policy to only source from well-managed legal sustainable forests. We must be responsible not only to the environment but also to our clients, staff, and contractors.
We unreservedly condemn illegal logging or sourcing material from deforested regions. Therefore, we never harvest materials from rainforests and will not manufacture some exotic wood species. Sadly, so much timber from these areas comes from questionable sources.
It seems so wasteful that people are still selling flooring that comes from our ever-reducing rainforests when there are sustainable alternatives on offer. The future of our forests matters to us just as much as our flooring does. That’s why we continue to collaborate and partner with organisations to strengthen our commitment.
Planting three new trees for every one we cut down with Gone West
We’re proud to partner with Gone West. Self-described as an army of tree planters defending our planet, they’ve planted more than 4m trees since 2013.
On average, every human being produces 12t of CO2 a year. A single tree can offset and store an entire tonne of CO2 during its lifetime. Young trees absorb more carbon dioxide than mature ones. So, it makes sense to harvest older trees and plant new ones.
However, with only 11.76% of our land being used as forests, it’s crucial to our country’s environmental future that we act now. As part of our partnership, we’ve promised to use 1,000 oak trees a year and committed to planting 4,000 new oak trees every year. So, for every tree we cut down, we’ll plant three new ones.
Planting trees with Minchinhampton Golf Club
Climate change is real. As a global community, we’ve underestimated our impact on the environment. In the past two centuries, we’ve cut down 50% of the world’s forests. We’re always looking for innovative ways to act on this and make a change.
In our continued efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and supply sustainable wood flooring, we teamed up with Minchinhampton Golf Club. Like us, they’re committed to maintaining the highest environmental and ecological standards.
As part of this, we funded the planting of more than 50 mixed oak and beech trees. In an area of outstanding, natural beauty in the Cotswolds, the project required larger, more mature trees.
We happily partner with ventures that encourage the protection of our environment and address the impact we make by planting trees and giving back what we take.
We’re certified by the FSC…
Our commitment to our planet’s future never waivers. We’ve spent years putting in place policies to protect our environment. It’s why we’ve proud to have products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The FSC is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. Covering more than 200m hectares of forest, FSC-certified forests are managed to strict environmental, social, and economic standards.
Wood-based products can contribute to mitigating climate change by physically storing carbon and substituting more environmentally damaging, energy-intensive, and non-renewable materials. FSC certification assures that forest products support responsible forestry.
Our FSC chain of custody certification means our materials have been identified and separated from ineligible and unacceptable ones as it makes their way along the supply chain from the forest to your project.
… and the PEFC
As well as being FSC-certified, we’re also proud to be certified by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. The PEFC is a leading global alliance of national forest certification systems. As an international non-profit, non-governmental organisation, they’re dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management.
They provide forest owners of any size with a tool to demonstrate responsible practices whilst empowering companies (like us) and consumers to buy sustainably.
We think about the trees we use
To protect our forests, we work with forestry experts to select the trees we cut down. This helps us ensure no habitats are damaged or destroyed. So, whenever we use a tree, nothing goes to waste.
We only harvest older trees that consume less carbon and produce less oxygen. And we utilise every inch of a tree. By primarily producing engineered floorboards, we consume around one-fifth of the amount of material compared to producing solid boards.
Protect our planet’s forests
With the lowest Forest percentage of land in Europe, we must act now to reforest. The UK has one of the worst forest coverages in Europe with only 11.76% of our land as forests. Only Ireland and the Netherlands are behind us, and we’re more determined than ever to play our part and make a difference.
If you’re working on a residential or commercial project, and want to commit to protecting our planet’s forests, get in touch with The Solid Wood Flooring Company today.
www.thesolidwoodflooringcompany.com
