Summary of the Report for the International Seminar on Goho-Wood 2012 (Part 1)(Wood suppliers’ side)

NameTitle
Organization nameSusumu Kawakita
Executive Director
Japan Plywood Manufacturers’ Association (JPMA)I Brief introduction of the organization
1)Establishment
July 1965 (A nationwide federation of commercial and industrial associations based on the SmallEnterprises Law)
2) Purpose of the association
To implement projects on R&D for production technologies, expanding demand, information gatheringand provisions related to plywood, in order to develop Japan’s plywood industry, as well as to stabilize
and streamline management of the association through cooperatives and partners of the cooperatives.
3) Organization of the association
The association consists of four plywood industry cooperatives in four areas of Japan (Tohoku, Tokyo,central Japan, and western Japan). Partners of cooperatives are 35 factories from 31 enterprises, andproduce plywood that accounts for approximately 90% of Japan’s total domestic plywood production(approx. 2,500,000 m3). (As of July 2012)
4) Major activities
Create statistics regarding plywood, encourage the spread of domestic plywood, develop new products,and implement environmental measures, such as measures against illegal logging.

II Outline and dissemination of “goho (legal)-wood” activities
1) The “ Self-disciplinary Code of Conduct on Measures against Illegal Logging” and “Procedure to Authorize
Member Companies Related to the Verification of Legality of Wood and Wood Products” were establishedin March 2006 according to the Forest Agency’s guidelines.
2) Authorized companies (JPMA’s partners of cooperatives, etc.) as of August 1, 2012, total 36 factories from26 enterprises.
3) Shift in the supply of Goho-wood• Shift in input of logs for manufacturing plywood(Unit: thousand m3)
Input of logs (A)Year

No. of legally
verified logs (B)(Note) Enterprises affected by the Great(B)/(A)%East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 havenot been included in the numerical values

FY 2007

4,808

1,70635%

FY 2008

3,195

1,856

58%

FY 2009

2,834

2,07973%

Plywood

FY 20103,426

2,56875%(JPMA)FY 20113,363

2,20766%

for FY2010.

23(Source) Summary values of the Japan
Manufacturers’Association• Shift in the utilization of domestic wood in logs for manufacturing plywood(Unit: thousand m3)

Year

Input of logs
(A)

Inputdomestic(B)of(Note)logs (B)/(A)%TheFY 2000

5,4011383%

FY 2005

4,63686319%

FY 20103,811

2,49065%

FY 20113,858

2,52465%

numericalvalues

includeenterprises outside the Japan Plywood
Manufacturers’ Association (JPMA).
(Source) Statistics by the Ministry ofAgriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

• Shift in output of domestically-produced plywood (table)(Unit: thousand m3)
Output of legality

Year

Output ofverified products(B)/(A)%production (A) (B)FY 20072,5721476%

FY 200842520%FY 2009

2,079
2,092472

23%

FY 2010

2,412405

17%

FY 20112,26441418%

4) Dissemination activities
Display at Eco-products 2011 for legality verified domestic plywood, etc.

24III Activities to secure credibility
1) Public relations activities• The Self-disciplinary Code of Conduct, Procedure to Authorize Member Companies and names ofauthorized companies are posted on JPMA’s website.
2) Implementation of training, monitoring, etc.
• Training programs are held for executives of authorized companies and for persons in charge of theseparation of Goho-wood from other wood and the management of documents

YearNo. of trainees

FY 200750

FY 200837

FY 200934

FY 201028

FY 201146

Training venues
Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka

Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Shimane• Every year, monitoring of approximately three member companies is conducted, based on the Procedure toAuthorize Member Companies. Personnel from the head office of JPMA visit and interview persons incharge at the member companies and confirm the separation of Goho-wood from other wood andmanagement of document.

IV Evaluation from the demand side
1) With promotion of the construction of durable, long-lasting houses with excellent anti-earthquake andenergy-efficient features through the utilization of “Goho-wood,” etc. and implementation of the Act for
Promotion of the Use of Wood in Public Buildings, there is a growing interest in Goho-wood as designatedprocurement items based on the Law Concerning the Promotion of Procurement of Eco-Friendly Goods andServices by the State and Other Entities.
2) Many prefectures have supported houses built using wood, and have established an approval system forexcellent quality wood. As one of the requirements for approval, more and more systems verify the legalityof wood and wood products in accordance with the Forest Agency’s guidelines.
3) With an increasing number of house builders and furniture makers becoming conscious ofenvironmentally-friendly eco-products, more companies now have procurement policies requiring wood
whose legality has been verified.
4) Against this backdrop, although goho-wood has attracted greater attention, only a few orders have been
made for legality-verified plywood (JPMA has provided guidance regarding the shipment of plywood withverified legality, regardless of the presence or absence of requests from users.)
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V Problems to be solved
1) Requests for the government
To provide incentives for the use of Goho-wood (such as Goho-wood use points).
To create a mechanism to promote Goho-wood by labeling Goho-wood and wood products with acommon mark.
2) Requests for log suppliers including importers, etc.
To promote the supply of legality verified logs regardless of whether those logs are imported or producedin Japan.
3) Issues in securing credibility
Research on an appropriate and effective method to separate Goho-wood from other wood andsystematization of documents by a third-party agent for office procedures.

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