Norbord hoots Use Wood Wisely message at Parliament

Wood panel manufacturer Norbord has urged MPs and Lords to reconsider the current Renewables Obligation legislation as part of its latest environmental initiative.

Norbord’s ‘Use Wood Wisely’ campaign is against the legislation that promotes the burning of virgin wood and instead suggests that timber in the UK should go through an appropriate cycle of use before it is burnt in order to generate electricity.

As part of the initiative, the manufacturer sent emails and a soft toy ‘Wise Owl’, the face of the campaign, to each MP and Lord in Westminster on November 1 to encourage them to support the campaign.

Karl Morris, Norbord’s senior vice president, European operations, said: “Norbord’s overall positioning is that virgin wood in the UK should go through an appropriate cycle of use before it is burned to generate electricity.

“For instance, using wood to build houses or produce furniture will lock up the CO2 for several decades as opposed to burning it immediately which will ultimately release it straight back into the atmosphere. Wood should be used in such a way before burning it. The purpose of the approaching parliament is to make MP’s and Lords aware of this and to take action.

“More specifically, we are looking for legislation whereby power generators should be required to be transparent in declaring the source of wood they use for fuel. And if their fuel supply strategy proposes using wood from Britain’s forests, Ministers should be able to reject the strategy if they think that it will impact unfavourably on the supply of wood to other industries in Britain that use wood to make items for homes and industry.”

Use Wood Wisely is part of Norbord’s Better By Nature campaign in which the company tackles environmental issues affecting the UK and debates the pressing need for sustainable and renewable energy sources.