In a recent report by Fedecomlegno, the Italian federation of wood traders, Michele Alfano, president of the association, discussed the changes due to globalization and sustainable development.
Commenting upon the decision of the past years and outlining the future directions of the association, Michele Alfano underlines that the association has allowed to handle changes in the wood industry with a proactive approach.
As Alfano said: “…we stand before key changes that require strong representation, not only to defend legitimate interests, but most and foremost to interact with institutions, environmentalist and consumer associations…”.
In the wood and furniture industry, globalization has led to a substantial change in production sites and supply markets, as a result of the decentralization of large sawmills in Northern Europe and the rise of new fierce competitors. Also climate changes and widespread temperature increase have affected the industry directly. This adds to pressure on raw materials from Asia and all up-and-coming countries with strong growth rates.
The long-sighted approach and institutional role of Fedecomlegno and Federlegno-Arredo have allowed to deploy a proactive policy in environmental protection. Instances include the agreement with Greenpeach in 2002 and the current deals with WWF, which should result into a much more complex agreement for sustainable forest resources exploitation.
The association has also cooperated at European and Italian level for the definition of the Forest law enforcement governance and trade, a strategy aimed at monitoring the legal status of materials imported into the European community.
“Now – concluded president Alfano – our industry is benefiting from maximum attention:therefore, we must seize the opportunity to close more agreements such as those that have led to favorable measures for the wood industry in the financial law, and the agreements between Federlegno-Arredo and Uncem, the Italian union of mountain municipalities and communities.”
The future roads of Fedecomlegno
ultima modifica: 2007-09-28T00:00:00+00:00
da
