New Zealand Timber and Wood Products Procurement Policy (TWPP)

Model clauses for procuring wood products

Legality
Sustainability
Model letter to tender

Legality

Under the New Zealand Timber and Wood Products Procurement Policy it is mandatory for government departments to seek legally produced timber and wood products, including paper, when purchasing these products.

This means that a legality clause must be inserted into all contracts, including tender contracts and all term-supply contracts where fulfilment of the contract involves the use of timber and/or wood products, including paper.

Examples of standard clauses include:

All timber and wood-derived products procured by the Contractor for supply or use in performance of this contract shall be derived from Legal Timber. The term ’Legal Timber’ in the context of this Contract Condition refers to timber or wood products from a forest that that has been legally harvested and where the organisation or body that felled the trees and provided the timber from which the wood is supplied or derived had legal rights to use the forest;
Timber and wood products utilised to satisfy this contract will be sourced from legally harvested forests.

Sustainability

The expectation for a preference for timber and wood products from sustainably managed sources, where reasonably available and consistent with the principles of the government procurement policy framework, is a key part of the Timber and Wood Products Policy.

A department or agency may wish to insert a sustainability clause into contract, including tender contracts and all term-supply contracts.

Examples of standard clauses include:

All timber and wood-derived products procured by the Contractor for supply or use in performance of this contract shall be (a) recycled timber or wood product and/or (b) timber and/or wood product from a 'sustainable source' or (c) a combination of (a) and (b). The contractor will be able to produce verification of this within a period of two weeks if requested by [Agency].
“[Agency] is committed to purchasing sustainable timber and wood products wherever possible. [Agency] will give appropriate weighting to sustainable timber and wood products in the purchasing process.
[Agency] has determined that the following sustainability considerations will be weighted when purchasing:
- [list matters specific to agency and procurement subject]”.

Model letter to tender

The tenderer's attention is drawn to the contract requirements governing the supply and use of timber and wood products in performing the contract. Under the New Zealand Timber and Wood Products Procurement Policy it is mandatory for government departments to procure legally-produced timber and wood products, including paper. Legally sourced timber and wood products are those that are sourced from legally harvested forests within the country of origin. Where possible and consistent with value for money and other procurement principles, government departments are also expected to use timber and wood products obtained from sustainable sources.

Timber and wood derived products in the context of this contract includes timber or wood products, including paper supplied to government departments or used by the contractor, his agents and subcontractors in performance of the contract.

The contractor, as a condition of this contract, must be able to provide verification that all timber and wood derived products used in the contract are from forests that have been legally harvested. For paper products, paper which is composed of 70 percent or more of recycled material will be considered as legal under the policy.

If called upon, evidence of verification of legality must be able to be provided to the contracting department within 21 working days.

In summary, tenderers are offered the option of providing either:

timber and wood derived products that are verified as legally harvested (this is a condition of contract and so is a mandatory requirement); or
timber and wood derived products that are verified to be both legally logged and from a sustainable source.

Government departments will give preference to suppliers who offer timber and wood products that can be verified as being both from a legally logged and sustainable source.

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