Responsible & Sustainable Sourcing of Timber.

We at oakfiresurrounds.co.uk guarantee that the timber we buy and work with meets with the strict environmental credentials we personally insist upon to satisfy our individually and company’s politically and ethically held values and beliefs. We undertake in accordance with the World Wildlife Fund‘s (WWF), Friends of the Earth (FOE), Greenpeace, and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)  criteria and guidelines to  use only sustainably harvested and sourced timber from well managed forests and commercial woodland plantations. Once a tree is felled it no longer acts as a carbon store which is then released in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) as the tree decays. CO2 is a major greenhouse gas contributing to global warming (see Fig 1). The tree once felled is unable to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere via the trees respiratory process and fulfil its function as part of what is known as the Carbon Cycle (see Fig 2).

Fig 1 Greenhouse Gas Effect

For timber to be classified as been cropped from a sustainable source it has to originate from a well-managed forest or woodland plantation where more trees are planted than harvested. This not only guarantees the sustainability of the timber crop itself and the longevity of the products we craft for following generations to enjoy but more importantly it ensures the woodland continues to act as the ‘world’s lungs’ and contributes to the absorption of carbon dioxide and the release of oxygen in to the atmosphere for us to breathe The provision of well managed woodland also plays a vital role in adding to and enhancing the biodiversity of our lived environment for all of us to enjoy, and benefit from. Woodland provides the very habitat for our natural woodland fauna and wildlife to flourish.

Fig 2 The Carbon Cycle

As a highly valued customer of oakfiresurrounds.co.uk, whether purchasing one of our readymade, or  bespoke, oak fire surround, oak over mantle mirrors, or an occasional tables to complement one of our oak fire surrounds, you can rest assured not only that it will have been sympathetically hand crafted to the highest quality bringing out the unique quality of each individually chosen piece of timber but the timber itself will have  been supplied from  a responsible and reputable supplier from a sustainable source.