Forestry team meets Kerry McCarthy MP

Kerry McCarthy MP (Labour – Bristol East) recently visited the Soil Association Certification Forestry office for a conversation about Forestry. Kerry sits on the Environmental Audit Committee and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Agroecology. She met with Ursula, John and Andy from the Forestry team and Honor from the Policy team, and the session proved very productive.

It included subjects such as the nature and breadth of our work, delivering Assurance and Due Dilligence services for forestry and related sectors globally, agroforestry and our policy briefing and report, and many other topics.

Kerry asked the team whether or not they thought there would be enough UK timber to meet demand in the coming years, which led to a discussion on the poor levels of woodland creation and tree planting, particularly in England and Wales. She was prepared to ask a question about this in Parliament about government failure to hit targets.

Having previously worked on wooden skyscrapers, Kerry enquired about the new materials that can be created from timber products.  

She was also interested in the EAC's new enquiry, Heatwaves: Adapting to Climate Change, and suggested that we might submit written evidence to highlight the contribution of trees to creating micro-climates for animal welfare and biodiversity, as well as drought reduction and soil erosion. 

This was an excellent opportunity to engage directly with a voice within the government and to raise important issues surrounding timber and forests.