Timber

All timber is purchased from well managed sustainable forests, therefore aiding the preservation of the world's timber supplies.

Sustainable managed forests are where environmental, social and economic aspects are taken into consideration in forestry practices. These include:

The balance between growth and harvesting.
Cultural values of those who live and work or use the forests for recreation.
Conservation of biological diversity - water, soils and fragile ecosystems.
The protective functions of the forest - maintenance of wildlife, habitats and species.
The health and vitality of the forest.
Forest resources and global carbon cycles.

Forest certification is a control mechanism through which these specific characteristics of forest management operation are attested to. This allows the consumer to identify among the products available in the market place those produced in accordance with specified standards.

Vale Garden Houses Ltd has Chain of Custody certifications through SGS Qualifor for manufacturing from timber through the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) schemes.

FSC is currently considered the most important scheme of forest certification, having the widest spread of accedited certification bodies throughout the world. The PEFC is the world's largest international forest certification scheme. The world-wide area of certified forest now under the PEFC umbrella scheme is in excess of 187 million hectares.