Russia (bbabo.net), - The trend of environmental neutrality and support for the environment is spreading more and more in the Russian market. Western companies have long made high demands on suppliers and quality standards for their products. One of these requirements is, for example, an EPD (Environment product declaration) certificate, i.e. an environmental product declaration, which provides quantitative indicators of the overall environmental impact of a product/material during the entire life cycle of the product.

The EPD is prepared based on the ISO 14025 standard and is a recognized methodology worldwide. The presence of EPD is an important and often mandatory condition when using products in facilities built to green standards. This market is actively growing both in the world and in Russia. At least, at the facilities implemented by Western architects in our country, the requirements for such certification from suppliers are already mandatory.

I believe that it is important to approach the provision of Russian producers with raw materials in a comprehensive manner. Currently, there are no measures of state support for forest certification. A well-defined state policy is needed here. Not all suppliers or loggers are ready to transform their business and go to great expense. They incur significant costs for fulfilling the requirements of certifying authorities, in particular, maintaining blanks according to certain standards. Now the certification bodies are foreign organizations, since there are simply no such institutions on the Russian market. And the fact that business pays money to foreign companies, and not to Russian auditors, is not entirely correct.

Not all suppliers or loggers are willing to go to the expense of obtaining an environmental declaration

In my opinion, the Russian Federation needs to develop its certification and create its own certification body, develop standards and provide consulting support to businesses in this matter.

In Europe, the restriction and non-admission of illegal timber to the market is legally enshrined. According to these standards, all customers audit their suppliers. Our company, as a supplier of foreign products for European buyers, has been repeatedly audited for compliance with standards. Many years ago, we introduced a clear and transparent policy for working with our suppliers, and they provide a complete supply chain for harvested wood. Implemented since January 2022, the Forest EGAIS system will significantly tighten state control over timber transactions, but at the same time simplify tracking the chain of harvesting and supplying timber to businesses. It will practically eliminate all small illegal manufacturers and will allow conscientious companies to operate both in the domestic and foreign markets.

In our company, we see that the demand for certified products is higher among Western buyers. They are willing to pay more for it. As for the Russian consumer, he needs to get used to the fact that the market is constantly transforming. Now he is on the path of sustainable environmental development. Certified products are, first of all, reliability and trust in the manufacturer.

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