SB Phase Out
3A Composites Core Materials, committed to ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) principles and values, has introduced changes to the BALTEK® balsa wood cores portfolio that address valid concerns regarding assurance of wood origin and sustainability.
With this in mind, we announce publicly that from July 1st, 2024 onwards, we are only offering a range of balsa wood core materials with the SBC definition, where (C) stands for “controlled”. SBC has always been linked to plantations, mainly those belonging to 3A Composites Core Materials. Under the new definition, we expand it to controlled plantations from selected external sources besides our own.
3ACM Will continue growing and expanding our FSC®-certified plantations for Forestry Management in Ecuador and Papua New Guinea and we will work closer with small farmers and selected partners to continue guaranteeing availability of prime wood only, within our certification schemes. This also allows us to assure not only legal origin of wood but also “time to kiln (T2K)”. It is also stated that BALTEK® SBC does not contain wood coming from natural ecosystems or plantations that are not replanted. We are also actively working in making our due diligence systems, validated through our Chain of Custody certifications, compatible with the EUDR norm, which will be enforced starting in 2025.
It is crucial for customers to become familiar with active legislation such as the Lacey Act in the United States, besides the EUDR in the European Union where liabilities are pointed out in case of importing or procuring illegally harvested timber
The aforementioned date is a production cut-off batch. This means that deliveries might still show SB material until it is phased out completely.
We also hereby confirm that the changes in portfolio have no impact on performance or mechanical properties.