Marketing Commission ATIBT/Fair&Precious

The members of the Commission met to take stock of the market situation, the progress of the various marketing and communication projects in progress and to define the future strategic orientations for the Commission in its mission to promote certified tropical timber via the Fair&Precious platform.

State of the market: a situation that remains difficult
The discussions confirmed that the sector continues to face an unfavorable economic situation, described by some participants as “the biggest crisis in 40 years”. However, order books are gradually starting to fill up, but the expected recovery in Europe does not seem likely before 2026.

Valorisation of certification
Participants expressed concern about the apparent lack of recognition of FSC and PEFC-PAFC certifications.

The Commission has proposed updating the 2024 Cameroon economic report and extending it to the other countries of the Congo Basin, in order to have a summary document that will enable discussions with the authorities to be based on concrete data.

Regulations: EUDR and CITES
With regard to EUDR, certified companies seem relatively well prepared, but support is still needed for other players in the sector. The postponement of the implementation of the regulation will allow companies to prepare better.

For CITES, discussions focused on the risks of listing new species, notably meranti in Malaysia (annex 2) and potentially okoumé at the next COP (the one after Samarcande in 2024). The mobilization of the ATIBT on this subject was welcomed, with the setting up of a dedicated hotline to resolve cases of container blockages. The work of the CITES team was particularly appreciated, and the need to make this action sustainable was emphasized.

Current initiatives and promotional activities
Several initiatives were presented, including:

ASP Cameroon Green Pact: various marketing actions including business meetings, training workshops, digital communication and press relations are being rolled out.
MIB Congo Project: officially launched on January 21 in Brazzaville, this project to support the domestic timber market aims to improve sustainable management mechanisms in the sector and strengthen the capacities of local actors.
Performance and functional requirements guide for African tropical wood structures: developed in partnership with the CNDB, this guide has been hailed as an excellent tool to facilitate the drafting of technical specifications. A site visit is planned for April 30 in Paris to present this guide.
International actions: a forum on the tropical forests of the Congo Basin will be held in Cologne on May 22, 2025, organized by WWF and FSC Germany with the participation of ATIBT. A Fair&Precious marketing campaign aimed at architects and the construction sector is also planned in Poland.

New strategic proposals
The Commission has approved the launch of the “True-False” campaign, which aims to deconstruct certain preconceived ideas about tropical timber. This campaign will be disseminated via various channels: e-mailings, social networks, websites, posters and press inserts.
One ambitious proposal was particularly well received: the creation of a Fair&Precious specifier position. This professional would collectively represent the certified tropical timber sector to the main contractors and specifiers (retail chains, builders, developers, local authorities, architectural firms, etc.). The trial would first be conducted on the French market before a possible extension to other European markets.

The next meeting of the Fair&Precious Marketing Commission, to be held on October 14, will be an opportunity to take stock of the progress of these various initiatives and to reflect further on the next Think Tank planned for the second half of 2025.

If you are an ATIBT member and would like to join the Marketing Commission, please contact nathalie.bouville@atibt.org