Timber Reporting FAQs

When will the reporting portal open for submissions?

The main reporting period will run from Monday 4th until Friday 29th January. However, the portal will be open to submissions from Thursday 10th December for any supplier who wishes to begin the reporting process early.

How do I set up an account in the online submission portal?

An account has already been set up for each supplier within the submission portal. However, you will also need to set up your own password. This can be done by clicking the ‘forgot your password?’ link, as shown in the image below.

I have multiple sites within my company producing products containing timber. Can separate accounts be used to report these figures?

Each company should have only one account within the submission portal. Where multiple persons within the business may be reporting information, it is possible to share the login details for the portal account with other colleagues. If using an Excel form, this can be used internally to collect data from various parts of the business, but this information should then be consolidated into a single final form to be submitted.

What materials do I need to report on?

As per the M&S Wood Sourcing policy, you are expected to report on any M&S own brand products and packaging that contain wood or wood derived materials including pulp, paper and agriwood.

There are some specific materials that are out of scope, including bamboo, cane or rattan. If you are unclear as to whether a certain product falls within the scope of the reporting, please contact 3Keel for clarification.

Do I need to report on packaging materials?

M&S only requires suppliers to provide information on primary packaging, that is packaging which is in direct contact with the product itself and will be seen by the customer. Therefore, if you are supplying products without primary packaging to M&S, you will not need to supply any information on packaging. If you are a product supplier that uses a Supplier Managed Printer, you do need to report on packaging. If you are unsure, please get in touch with your M&S contact.

What information is required?

The following information needs to be included for M&S supply chains:

  • Certification status (if applicable) of company, manufacturing sites, and/or products.
  • Timber tonnages purchased as virgin or mixed sources (if applicable) by your company that are used in the products/packaging supplied to M&S. Data must include:
    • Name of direct supplier.
    • Certification status of supplier and/or the product/packaging.
    • Species name, country and region of origin (virgin only).
    • Forest management company (virgin only).
    • Trading evidence through invoices (virgin only).
    • Evidence of legal harvest (virgin only).
  • Recycled timber tonnages (if applicable) by your company that are used in the products/packaging supplied to M&S. Data must include:
    • Name of direct supplier.
    • Evidence of recycling (e.g. certification).

What evidence of certification or recycled status needs to be provided?

To show that a product or timber material is sold as certified or recycled, an invoice or delivery note needs to be provided which meets the following requirements. A suitable example is shown below, using an image of an invoice from WWF UK’s ‘Would you believe it?’ (2019) and annotated by 3Keel.

  • Dated between 1 January and 31 December 2021
  • Naming the product or timber material which is claimed as certified
  • ‘FSC’, ‘PEFC’ or ‘recycled’ is mentioned within the product line
  • Companies named on the invoice/delivery note should be as named in the form
  • For certified products: FSC or PEFC certification number is shown
  • For recycled products: The % recycled content should be clearly stated

Where the relevant information is provided in a language other than English (e.g. Mandarin), we ask that a translation is provided.

What evidence of legal harvest needs to be provided?

There is a range of options available for evidence of legal harvest. Appropriate evidence of legal harvest may include the following:

  • Harvesting or logging licenses or permits
  • Land tenure and management right documentation
  • Forest management unit or concession licenses or permits
  • CITES certificate
  • Authorization of Forest Exploitation
  • Document of Forest Origin
  • Plantation License
  • Phytosanitary certificate issued by relevant authority showing export from low risk country
  • Certificate of origin issued by relevant authority showing export from low risk country
  • Evidence of FSC or PEFC certification further down the supply chain

Please contact 3Keel if you are unsure of whether the evidence that you have available to you constitutes as evidence of legal harvest.

What are the information boundaries that should be used for determining volumes?

All data is to be provided for products supplied to M&S between 01 January 2021 and 31 December 2021. The data should only relate to M&S products and not to your overall company procurement.

What is the difference between ‘mixed’ timber and ‘recycled’ timber?

Mixed Timber – recycled and virgin material are both used (e.g. 75% recycled paper). These sources must be disclosed on both the ‘virgin and mixed’ and ‘recycled’ declaration pages as the origins of both are needed.

Recycled Timber – materials that have been recovered, processed, and reused from secondary market sources (i.e. not supplier’s own offcuts).

I supply M&S with a large number (>20) of different products and am concerned about the amount of time it will take to report in the portal. Is there an alternative?

Yes – an Excel form is available as an alternative. Please ask 3Keel for this using the contact details below. 

I haven’t supplied any M&S own label products containing timber. Why have I received this form?

If you have not supplied M&S with any M&S own brand product or packaging that contains timber, please declare to 3Keel that you are out of scope for this exercise. No further action will be required once you have made this declaration and it has been accepted by M&S.

Who do I contact if I have any further questions?

3Keel is available to support you with any questions you have on the information required for reporting. If you have any questions on access and use of the online submission portal and the information required, please contact 3Keel using the details below.

E-mail: Data.Services@3Keel.com

Phone: +44 (0) 1993 764 710