Gunther Hentschel is the Responsible Purchasing Policy manager with the Timber Trade Federation in London.

“This job perfectly fits with my personal ethics in terms of the environment and use of renewable resources. Timber is about the only renewable resource we have for building and other purposes and I’m able to contribute directly to making sure that timber sold by our members comes from sustainable and legal sources.

“My work is very varied. It covers a broad range of issues from environment to economics, social science and international relations. All these factors are involved in promoting the use of timber from responsibly-managed sources across the world. My personal interest is in tropical timbers and what we can do to make sure that communities in tropical countries can legally harvest and trade their timber to provide them with economic and social benefits. By helping the Federation’s members to understand the issues and to purchase responsibly using our new Responsible Purchasing Policy (RPP) as a framework, I believe I am positively supporting international development.

“I am responsible for managing and promoting the RPP. I attend meetings which explain the Federation’s position to government and other bodies. I have also been involved in policy processes such as the government’s Central Point of Expertise on Timber, and the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). One of the best parts of my job is attending high level meetings on timber and forest policy worldwide, being able to learn from international experts on topics like forest certification. I’d certainly recommend this job to anyone with an interest in the environment or sustainable development.”

Responsible Purchasing - TTF Website