After five years as Chairman of PEFC UK, Peter Latham OBE has moved to the PEFC International Board to continue progressing the understanding and use of certified timber and the development of sustainable sourcing and supply. He is replaced in the UK by long standing Board member Professor Emeritus, Hugh Miller OBE.
Leaving his position as UK Chair, Peter Latham OBE, said: “I hope to help PEFC Council ensure that while the needs of landowners and foresters continue to be important, more emphasis is given to the requirements and expectations of the market. PEFC certification has to add value to all in the supply chain and the process will not be worthwhile if there is no customer demand”.
“Building a great team at PEFC UK both in terms of the full-time people and the Board has given me great pleasure, as well as helping in the process to demonstrate that PEFC certification met the Government requirements under the CPET review and helping both FSC and PEFC, to work together with the Olympic Delivery Authority, to deliver proof of sustainable purchasing for the Olympics later this year.”
Professor Miller graduated in forestry from the University of Aberdeen in 1964 and for the next two decades led research into forest bio-geochemistry at the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research. In 1981 he was awarded the Scientific Achievement Award of the International Union of Forest Research Organisations. In 1984 he was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Forestry in the University of Aberdeen, retiring in 2004. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Foresters and was President from 1994 to 1996.
Commending the success PEFC UK Ltd has experienced under Latham’s chairmanship, Professor Miller commented: “The company has experienced unprecedented growth in a number of areas under Peter’s leadership, including rising membership, a huge increase in demand for PEFC Chain of Custody certification and the first PEFC-certified forest areas in the UK. I am looking forward to building on these successes with the support of my PEFC colleagues”.
PEFC UK has also appointed two new Directors. Pat Burke is Group Purchasing Director at Arnold Laver Timber World. Pat is also a former Chair of the North East Timber Trade Association and has held positions within Forests Forever and various Timber Trade Federation commodity committees as well as serving on the Boards of the British Woodworking Federation, Proskills and the Wood Industry Training board.
Also taking on a PEFC UK role will be David Leslie. David is General Manager, Harvesting & Operations for James Jones and Sons Ltd, Scotland’s largest independent sawmiller and one of the leading suppliers of British timber in the UK. He is responsible for the Group’s roundwood procurement, sawmill co-products and haulage. In addition to his PEFC role, David chairs the Private Sector Timber Forecast Group, is a member of the Grampian Forestry Forum, a board member of Strategic Integrated Research in Timber (SIRT) at the Forestry Commission and member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters.