Last week, Responsible Wood CEO Simon Dorries joined Timber Queensland’s webinar Sustainability by Design: The Impact of Certified Timber in the Built Environment, speaking to an audience of more than 300 built environment professionals about the role they play in ensuring timber used in construction is responsibly sourced.
Certification underpins trust across the timber supply chain, providing independent verification that wood products come from forests managed to rigorous standards.
For designers, engineers, builders and specifiers, choosing certified timber is one of the most direct ways to influence responsible sourcing outcomes in the built environment. Procurement decisions made during design and specification flow through the entire supply chain, shaping demand for timber sourced from responsibly managed forests.
Responsible Wood was proud to sponsor the event, which brought together perspectives from across the timber and design sectors to explore the real-world impact of certification in modern construction.
In his presentation, Simon highlighted how certification supports transparency and accountability across the forest-to-construction pipeline. By specifying certified timber, built environment professionals help reduce risk, support sustainable forest management and strengthen confidence in timber as a climate-smart building material.
The webinar also explored how certified timber is enabling strong sustainability outcomes while supporting high-quality design across residential, commercial and public projects.
Certified Australian Timber category winner from the Timber Design Awards (also sponsored by Responsible Wood), architect Lara Maeseele, also spoke at the webinar. Sharing beautiful images of the winning Nebraska project, Lara demonstrated how thoughtfully specified certified timber can support both strong sustainability outcomes and high-quality architectural design.
Responsible Wood Board members Mark Thomson and Clarissa Brandt also presented during the webinar, sharing observations from the World Architecture Festival and highlighting how certified timber is being used in leading projects around the world, and the path of certified sustainable timber in Queensland.
The webinar reinforced a simple but powerful message: decisions made by built environment professionals matter. By specifying certified timber, they help support responsible forest management, strengthen trust in timber supply chains and contribute to a more sustainable built environment.
