The UK's fastest-growing method of construction, Timber Frame,strengthens its environmental credentials today with the announcement that leading timber frame construction company Benfield ATT has achieved FSC certification. This enables them to build homes, flats and buildings using timber which has come from responsibly managed forests. FSC is supported by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and WWF as being the only globally credible forest certification system.
From their base in South Wales, Benfield ATT design, manufacture and build environmentally sustainable, energy efficient homes and other high-quality engineered timber structures all over the UK and overseas. Past projects include kit houses for self-builders, Timber Frame houses for builders and developers, structures for schools, hospitals and hotels, and innovative one-off special builds.
The company works with many suppliers and their current FSC timber frame projects include a high-specification “chalet� for a private customer and a large timber frame extension to a school. Benfield ATT hope to eventually develop completely FSC engineered structures for the private and public sectors.
Dr Michael Benfield, Benfield ATT’s Managing Director is passionate about the company’s FSC certification: “This is a first step towards truly sustainable construction. The cost of certification can be justified by our team’s commitment to fully FSC-certified timber frame building. But this is just the tip of the environmental iceberg for the construction industry. The UK sector really does have the power to influence the future of the world’s forests, and we hope that our high-quality FSC timber frame structures will soon become the environmental benchmark, to which every potential builder and homeowner aspires.�
FSC-certified timber comes from forests managed to the highest environmental, social and economic standards. If the building contains 75% or more Benfield ATT timber frame, it automatically qualifies for maximum timber credits towards a BRE EcoHomes ‘Excellent’ rating (the Government’s highest sustainability rating).
FSC-UK Director Anna Jenkins believes that Benfield’s certification will have a great impact on the building industry: “Some seventy percent of all new builds across the developed world are timber framed, however in the UK the proportion is just fifteen percent, in Scotland around half of all new builds are timber constructions³. And, as environmental considerations become more prominent across the construction sector, this figure is set to increase. We are delighted that Benfield ATT are now able to offer FSC-certified timber frame constructions to a wide range of users, enabling architects, specifiers, local authorities and anyone interested in environmentally responsible building to meet their ethical objectives.�
For information on FSC-certified products and certification visit
www.fsc-uk.org or call 01686 413916 and for Benfield ATT call 01291 437050.
