Members interested in signing up to the RPP should contact the RPP manager on rppmanager@ttf.co.uk or call the TTF on 020 7839 1891.

NEW VERSION! TTF releases the streamlined Version 3 of the RPP 20 June 2006
The Timber Trade Federation released the 2006 streamlined version of the RPP.  We have reduced the number of questions, clarified the language and separated the product and suppliers assessments.  New forms have been developed as Excel templates that can be filled in electronically or manually, and the manual and guidance notes have been updated.  Please delete or discard all your existing RPP documentation and replacing it with the updated version provided on this and the TTF website. 

New RPP signatories 20 June 2006
We are pleased to announce Karl Danzer Ltd., Howie Forest Products Ltd., Donaldson Timber Engineering Ltd., John Boddy Timber Ltd., and Brooks Bros Ltd. subscribed to the RPP and start its implementation. The total number of RPP signatories now is 39.

TTF removes audit costs from Responsible Purchasing Policy (RPP) for members with 100% certified timber 18 June 2006
The last Forests Forever Executive Board meeting approved the proposal that TTF members with 100% of their timber covered by CPET-approved certification schemes (CSA, FSC, PEFC and SFI) would no longer be charged the RPP audit fee.  To satisfy the RPP 100% certified traders now only have to complete the RPP pre-screening form, listing their products, the forest certification scheme and the Chain of Custody number, and submit the report to SGS for auditing.

Members of the WWF Forest and Trade Network (FTN) can apply for RPP recognition 18 June 2006
The Responsible Purchasing Policy is predominantly a toolkit to assess the environmental performance of your suppliers, setting improvement targets and reducing your risk of buying timber from unwanted sources. If you have other measures in place, e.g. a systematic approach implemented for the FTN, you might apply for RPP recognition by submitting your assessment results and improvement targets to the annual RPP audit. An important precondition for doing so is that your process covers 100% of your supplies and that the policy is audited. For further information please contact the RPP manager.

RPP will be a condition of TTF membership as soon as 51% of the members have signed up 16 June 2006
TTF members on Wednesday voted to make the Federation’s Responsible Purchasing Policy (RPP) a condition of membership.  But the rule won’t apply until 51% of the members have signed up voluntarily and a subsequent AGM has fixed a date. Newly elected TTF President, Neil Donaldson said: ‘This is good news for the Federation and good news for the environment.  The RPP is a tool which helps members steadily reduce the risk that illegal products are inadvertently entering the supply chain via their suppliers and supports the high expectations members sign up to in our Code of Conduct.  This resolution underscores our commitment to fighting illegal logging and gives members the flexibility to introduce the system into their businesses when it suits them.’

RPP online update 14 June 2006
RPP Online, the TTF and Trackrecord joint venture released an updated version of this internet-based supplier assessment service. For a modest fee RPP Online will undertake the RPP for your company, which means they will request and assess supplier information, assist with target setting and provide the RPP and additional (e.g. FTN) reporting you may require.  The updated system includes compliance with the new RPP version, enhanced agent functionality, improved registration and support service, automated error reporting and supplier informing, and a generally slicker user style. For further information please contact RPP online at frmiller@trackrecordglobal.com.

Updated RPP Questionnaires and supplier assessment 14 June 2006 
The RPP working group, consisting of about a dozen of TTF members, developed a new version of the RPP Questionnaire and supplier assessment. The working group slimmed down the part on the general environmental performance of a supplier company, but introduced a stronger focus on information related directly to the supplied product (Part E and F of the Questionnaire). Again we would like to encourage all traders, RPP signatories or not, to use the RPP Questionnaires provided on this website if they assess suppliers on environmental performance.

RPP and CPET 10 May 2006
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is considering a TTF proposal for RPP signatories, and companies operating similar approaches, gaining an official CPET Approved Supplier status. The TTF, member of the Governing body of CPET, is pushing the Government for workable alternatives to specifying certified timber only. In this endeavour the RPP is gaining increasing recognition with customers providing reassurance of the sourcing of legal and sustainable timber products.

RPP workshops continue 24 April 2006
The TTF continues to offer RPP workshops. If you are interested in joining a group workshop at the TTF offices please contact the RPP Manager. There is also a limited possibility for the RPP Manager visiting your company.

Government advises authorities to acknowledge RPP membership 7 December 2005
The Gov. Timber Procurement Advice Note (November 2005) quotes “Membership of the UK Timber Trade Federation’s responsible purchasing policy will indicate importers and manufacturers who are endeavouring to obtain timber from well-managed forests. In the absence of any equivalent evidence from competitors an Authority may decide to rank RPP members higher than non-members for this element of a supplier’s track record.”