Richard Stanford

In a major speech at the Confor conference in Westminster, Forestry Commission CEO, Richard Stanford, called for a new approach to how we view trees and forestry in England. He championed the major benefits of tree planting in addressing the urgent climate, biodiversity and economic challenges of the day and called for an acceleration in tree planting rates across the country. …He also called for people to rethink “dogma” around conifer trees… [as the] UK is the second largest importer of timber and timber products in the world. He said the UK is facing a timber security crisis and he backs calls for a national timber strategy to boost domestic production and reduce our reliance on imports. …Mr Stanford highlighted that stepping up domestic timber production and its use in construction will significantly reduce emissions and lock up carbon in buildings.