Leicester City Council is the latest local authority to be recognised for its commitment to sustainable construction, in an award from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) under the ‘What Wood You Choose’ scheme, and also recognised the role of its historic market and its next development phase in sustainability of the city.
Leicester City Council writes:
The city council has been recognised by a wildlife charity for its policy on using sustainable timber. WWF – the World Wide Fund for Nature – ran a campaign in the UK called ‘What Wood You Choose’, encouraging businesses and organisations to help reduce unsustainable forest management and illegal felling by making certain that any timber or paper they buy for council projects is sustainably sourced.
Leicester City Council signed up to the charity’s Silver Pledge, committing to using sustainably-managed timber in all relevant projects. The pledge covers everything from recycled paper and office furniture to big building schemes. It means that the council has a clause written into contracts to ensure any contractors it employs use timber from sustainable sources.
To demonstrate its work matched up to WWF’s Silver Pledge, the city council submitted Leicester Market’s new food hall as an example of a specific project where the timber used came from well-managed forests.
The contemporary glass, steel and timber building, which opened last year, includes a beautiful feature roof of sustainably-sourced glulam wooden beams spanning the ceiling. To get the award from WWF, the council had to gather evidence of the supply chain for the project, demonstrating that it complied with the policy on sustainably-managed timber.
Assistant city mayor responsible for jobs and skills, Cllr Sue Waddington, said: ‘We know that we have an important role to play in helping to protect forests through the products and services we buy as a council. That’s why we’re requesting all our contractors and suppliers source timber from sustainable sources. The new food hall is a fantastic example of how we’ve put this into practice, and I’m delighted that the WWF has recognised our efforts in signing up to their pledge.’
To mark the achievement, Julia Young from WWF presented Cllr Waddington with a ‘silver pledge’ certificate at Leicester Market’s food hall on July 21. Julia said ‘Every time a council buys sustainably they are using public funds to support a better future for people and nature, and also supporting other businesses who have invested in sustainable supply. We are really happy Leicester used timber in this great project, as it is an excellent renewable resource, if managed well. Congratulations are due to the council team for their success, and we hope of course they keep up the great work!’
The council is currently investigating how the system for collecting supply chain evidence could be expanded to meet the requirements of the WWF’s Gold Pledge award.
View more information about the WWF project for businesses and Local Authorities
View more information about the Leicester Market project
