Redditch MP Karen Lumley was learning about forest friendly timber recently as part of a visit to a local DIY store.

The MP took a trip to the Redditch branch of B&Q where staff walked her through their policy for stocking timber, only selling sustainable timber products, which can be traced back to legal forests.

Store manager David Ponting, said: “We’re really proud of our timber achievement and are delighted that Karen Lumley was keen to visit our store and hear all about our forest friendly programme. It’s been a 20 year journey for us to reach this milestone but we now want to let all our customers know that all the timber we sell is ‘forest friendly’ and when people buy timber products from us, they can be assured that their purchase isn’t contributing to deforestation.”

Mrs Lumley added: “It was great to meet so many enthusiastic and positive staff today and to learn about why buying only forest friendly timber is so important. It’s good to see a business working hard to operate more sustainably and I hope this inspires other companies to follow their lead.”