Sample Letter to Wood Products Supplier


[On your company letterhead]



Month, Date, Year


Supplier ABC
Contact Name
Address
City, State Zip

Dear (First Name):

As you know, (our company) is committed to protecting the environment and to the responsible use of natural resources. Last (month/year), (our company) announced a new commitment as part of our ongoing Forest Conservation Program. The goal of this new initiative is to phase out our purchase and sale of wood and paper products from endangered forests by the end of (year), while phasing in the purchase of reclaimed, recycled, and Forest Stewardship Council certified wood and paper products.

We are currently reviewing and modifying our procurement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with this goal. We are also conducting audits to identify the products we currently sell that come from endangered forests, and searching for ecologically preferable alternatives.

As one of our current suppliers, we value our relationship with your company, and we ask that you work with us to help implement our endangered forest policy. As our first priority, we would like your help to ensure we quickly achieve the following goals for products we purchase from you:

  1. Any forest products sourced from Chile (primarily radiata pine) must be Forest Stewardship Council certified.
  2. No forest products come from companies logging in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, until all roadless areas are completely protected.
  3. No forest products come from roadless or old growth areas on US National Forests or US Bureau of Land Management lands.
  4. Any and all tropical hardwood products are Forest Stewardship Council certified.
  5. No forest products come from endangered or old growth forest areas of British Columbia or the Canadian Boreal forest.
  6. Whenever practical and economically competitive, we purchase products from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
  7. We purchase only recycled paper products, with the maximum post consumer recycled content available, processed chlorine free.

To help us meet the goals outlined above, please identify the sources of all wood and paper products we purchase from your company, using the attached form. We would appreciate receiving the following information from you within the next 30 days:

  • The names of companies supplying wood and paper products to your company.
  • The species, country, and forest region from which each of your wood and paper products comes from.
  • Whether any of these wood or paper products come from endangered or old growth forests.
  • The post consumer recycled content and total recycled content of all paper products we purchase from you.
  • Identify the wood or paper products we purchase from you that come from Forest Stewardship Council certified forests.

    While we ask you to help us transition away from endangered forest products, please keep in mind that our preference is to continue working with suppliers who have joined us in our mission to be ecologically sustainable throughout all our operations and who will work with us to verify the accuracy of information provided about the sources of our products.

    We value our relationship with your company, and we hope that you will work with us to meet our policy criteria. Be assured that we intend to work together with all our vendors to guarantee that the products we purchase are ecologically sustainable.

    Thank you, in advance, for your prompt attention to this request and for the effort we know that it requires of you.

    Sincerely,



    [Company CEO, Senior VP of Purchasing, or Senior VP of Environmental Management]





    • Sample letter.rtf