Downey & Co Ltd, in recognition of our responsibility to the environment, our customers and suppliers, bases our commercial activities on legal and well-managed forests.   

As such we are committed to procuring timber and timber products from independently verified sources. Downey & Co recognises that the independent, third party certification of forests and the supply chain is the optimal way of gaining assurances that the timber we trade originates from legal and well-managed forests.   

To this end we have achieved Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody Certification (COC) for a range of products we manufacture and purchase.

We source our raw materials from certified suppliers where possible.   We actively encourage and support all our suppliers to go through the certification process and to increase the volume of certified material traded.

Where COC certification is unavailable and alternative sources or products are sought, then as a minimum standard we will not procure any timber that is prohibited under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The company also declares that it is committed to complying with the “Policy of the Association of Organisations with FSC (FSC-POL-01-004), and that it is neither directly or indirectly involved in the following activities: 

• Illegal logging or the trade in illegal wood or forest products;
• Violation of traditional and human rights in forestry operations;
• Destruction of high conservation values in forestry operations;
• Significant conversion of forests to plantations or non-forest use;
• Introduction of genetically modified organisms in forestry operations;
• Violation of any of the ILO Core Conventions, as defined in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 1998.

To ensure continuous improvement, a Senior Manager is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of this policy and will ensure that environmental issues relevant to this policy are discussed regularly at the highest level of management.    

We will ensure that all employees associated with Timber Purchasing are encouraged to act in accordance with this policy and are given appropriate education and training to do so.   This policy will be reviewed annually to consider progress made by our supply chain, changes in industry practice and the requirements of our customers.