“From One Spoon to an Entire Building: Delivering Fully FSC®-Certified Timber”

A-Zero Group Establishes Supply System for FSC®-Certified Timber Enough for 300 Homes

 

A-Zero Group’s timber business has reached a major milestone. The supply of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council®※) certified timber has expanded to cover everything from structural members, structural plywood, interior materials, and custom woodwork — in short, a system that can cover an entire building. With capacity equivalent to over 300 homes, this means the group can now support large-scale constructions as well.

Behind this are the “100-Year Forest Initiative (Hyakunen no Mori)” nurtured by Nishiawakura Village, the timber distribution mechanisms supporting it, many people who have supported us since the Nishiawakura • Morino Gakkō era, and the accumulation of networks and challenges over many years.

As concerns for decarbonization and biodiversity become more prominent in recent years, FSC®-certified timber is becoming an indispensable option for sustainable architecture that cares for the environment and society. Since its founding, A-Zero Group’s timber business has played the role of supporting a future where good forests are created and people live in richness in a cyclical way.

※ Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®): an international non-profit organization aiming to spread responsible forest management globally.

 

Now Possible to Supply Entirely FSC®-Certified Timber Even for Large-Scale Buildings

— We speak with Mr. Kenta Kawaguchi, Timber Sales Representative at A-Zero Group. Mr. Kawaguchi, could you briefly explain what it means that A-Zero Group can now supply FSC®-certified timber across the board?

Kawaguchi: Since the days of our predecessor, Nishiawakura • Morino Gakkō, Inc. (hereafter “Morino Gakkō”), we have held FSC® COC (Chain of Custody) certification※1, procured timber from FM-certified forests※2 managed by Nishiawakura Village, and established a system that enabled us to sell FSC®-certified products.

Until now, we had sold and supplied FSC®-certified items mainly for small goods and some interior materials. However, we had not yet developed a supply system that could cover the entire timber needs of large-scale buildings with FSC®-certified wood.

Now at last, we are in a position where even for large buildings, all of the wooden components used can be supplied as FSC®-certified. We are truly delighted that the efforts we have pursued over the years — believing in the potential of FSC® timber, never giving up, and steadily expanding our partnerships — have finally taken shape in this way.

※1 COC (Chain of Custody) certification means that certified forest products are properly managed from procurement of raw materials through manufacturing, distribution, and sales via certified channels. This supports sustainable forest management.
Certificate held: FSC® SA-COC-003741, License code: FSC-C068055.

※2 FM (Forest Management) certified forest refers to forests that are recognized — by international forest certification systems such as FSC® or PEFC — to be appropriately managed with consideration for environment and local communities. Timber harvested from these forests is considered a legal and trustworthy resource. Nishiawakura Village’s FM certification is issued via an independent third-party examiner accredited under FSC®.

— First of all, what exactly is FSC® certification?

Kawaguchi: Put simply, it means being able to trace where and how the timber was harvested. Only materials that are managed according to certain standards can receive FSC® certification.
These “standards” include whether proper consideration is given to occupational safety and health, working conditions, and handling of materials, as well as to environmental aspects.

More specifically, there are two types of FSC® certification. One is FM (Forest Management) certification, which audits whether the forest itself is being properly managed. The other is COC (Chain of Custody) certification, which verifies whether timber is properly controlled as certified material even during processes such as sawing and distribution after harvesting.

In other words, FSC® certification is proof that not only is the forest being responsibly managed, but also that the timber harvested from it is carefully tracked all the way until it reaches people’s hands.

By choosing FSC®-certified timber, you help prevent illegal logging, protect forests where wildlife can continue to live, and ensure proper consideration is given to local communities who depend on the forests.

 

— Is this something other companies are doing as well? If this is something only A-Zero Group can do, why is that?

Kawaguchi: In Japan, there are still only a handful of companies capable of providing such supply (according to A-Zero Group’s own research).

The reason A-Zero Group has been able to achieve this lies largely in the unique distribution structure that Nishiawakura Village itself has developed. The village has a foundation that allows it to control, to some extent, how timber harvested from its FM-certified forests is used.

On top of this, A-Zero Group possesses in-house manufacturing functions while also establishing strong partnerships and outsourcing arrangements with collaborators. Thanks to this combination, we are now among the very few in Japan able to supply all building components using FSC®-certified timber.

 

— Where does A-Zero Group position itself? Is it a timber processing company, a manufacturer, or a trading company?

Kawaguchi:In fact, we encompass all of those roles.

A-Zero Group first began as a timber processing company. In practice, the company’s origins lie in timber processing, and we have grown over many years particularly in the field of interior wood materials. In that sense, we can fundamentally be described as a processing company.

At the same time, since we also design, develop, and manufacture our own products, we have the aspect of being a manufacturer.

We also fulfill the role of a trading company. In today’s timber industry, specialization has advanced; for example, some companies excel in structural timber but are not involved in interior wood, while others are the opposite. These specialized companies each possess deep expertise in their respective fields.

Drawing on our long-standing experience in manufacturing, A-Zero Group has been able to build connections with many of these specialized companies. By leveraging this network, we have developed a system that can consolidate and supply structural timber and other components together.

 

Sixteen Years Since the Birth of Nishiawakura • Morino Gakkō

— Could you tell us more about the journey since the founding? How did you come to adopt the style of being at once a timber processor, a manufacturer, and a trading company?

Kawaguchi: It’s been about sixteen years now, so it’s not easy to summarize briefly. But in aiming to realize the “100-Year Forest Initiative”※3, our predecessor, Nishiawakura • Morino Gakkō, Inc., was established to take on the role of processing, manufacturing, and selling timber produced through the management of the forest.

Nishiawakura • Morino Gakkō was formally established in October 2009.
A few months earlier, in February of the same year, a team called the “Morino Gakkō Project” had been launched and begun its activities. Their very first initiative was house building. In order to take on the challenge of “how to connect the forests of Nishiawakura with people’s everyday lives,” they organized an architectural competition, worked together with architects from the design stage, and steadily advanced the project step by step. At that time, they had no factory of their own, so the efforts were carried out in collaboration with surrounding mills.

Through this experience, it became clear that in order to realize the 100-Year Forest Initiative, it would be essential to reliably connect timber produced from the forest to people’s daily lives. At the same time, it also became apparent that to ensure delivery deadlines and maintain quality, having their own factory would be necessary.

Thus, the company was founded in October 2009, and by October 2010 their own factory had begun full-scale operations. The first major project was to prepare a complete set of timber for village-owned housing. By working hand in hand with nearby sawmills to assemble all the materials needed for construction, they gradually built up experience and trust.

At that time, in Nishiawakura Village, forest thinning had not yet progressed sufficiently. Therefore, we worked to select and harvest trees suitable for thinning and devoted efforts to creating systems that would keep the forests healthy. In our own factory, rather than relying on large-scale equipment, we specialized in producing boards for interior materials such as Yukahari Tiles, and we developed products that made full use of by-products from the manufacturing process so that nothing would go to waste.

As we continued our business within the timber industry, we faced many challenges that we could not solve on our own. For example, regarding the issue of how to distribute logs obtained from thinning, we experimented with direct sales to plywood factories, repeatedly trying different ways to deliver the village’s timber in better forms. We continuously asked ourselves what more we could do to connect the forest with people’s lives.

Today, based on the 100-Year Forest Initiative, stable thinning is carried out throughout the entire Nishiawakura Village. We have also put great effort into promoting FSC®-certified timber, and many cooperative partners have emerged both inside and outside the village.

Fifteen years since our establishment, we have finally built a system capable of supplying almost all the timber components needed for wooden architecture as FSC®-certified. We feel that we now stand at a brand-new starting point.

※3 The “100-Year Forest Initiative” is a long-term vision declared by Nishiawakura Village, Okayama Prefecture, aiming to build a sustainable community and effectively utilize forest resources. Through appropriate forest management and utilization, it seeks both regional revitalization and the passing on of forests to future generations.

 

A Fortunate Opportunity and the Experience We Built Up

— Thank you. Was there a project that became a turning point?

Kawaguchi: The project that really prompted us to strengthen our trading company functions was Naoshima Hall. Being involved in a building designed by the renowned architect Hiroshi Sambuichi was a major milestone for us.

This project began in 2014 and was completed in November 2015. Since the design actively incorporated timber, the client was looking for a company capable of handling the supply of wood components. They contacted us, and because we could coordinate timber supply centered on materials from Nishiawakura Village, that was how the project got started.

From the construction site, we received a constant stream of inquiries about different timber components, from early morning until late at night. As we responded wholeheartedly to each request, before we knew it, we had become responsible for supplying a significant portion of the timber required for the entire building. It wasn’t as though there had been a single bulk order from the start; rather, by continually responding to these requests, we earned the trust that “this company will find a way.” I take pride in that outcome.

This major project gave us the capability to handle everything consistently — from log procurement to delivery at the construction site. It also became a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with many partner companies.

After that, we also became involved in the construction projects of Nishiawakura Nursery School (completed in 2018) and the Nishiawakura Village Office & Awakura Hall (completed in 2021). Awakura Hall in particular was a major long-term challenge, requiring two years for construction and four years for material supply. It was also a significant opportunity in that we were able to supply FSC®-certified timber for a large-scale public facility, delivering 20,000 sheets of FSC®-certified structural plywood.

— I feel that the experience you gained from large projects such as those for the art festival may have helped in the nursery school and Awakura Hall projects. What are your thoughts?

Kawaguchi: Yes, that’s true. What we learned through the art festival projects — which actively used timber — is that when gathering the necessary materials, including those with special specifications, there are very few companies in Japan capable of properly organizing information from the forest side — the field where trees are harvested — all the way to the construction site, and then delivering the materials at the right timing.

By working backward from the construction schedule — for example, realizing that “to have the timber ready for this phase of construction, the trees must be felled by this time” — we learned firsthand the importance of such careful, step-by-step adjustments.

— What kinds of initiatives followed after the Awakura Hall project?

Kawaguchi: Between 2023 and 2024, we supplied timber for village-operated housing in Nishiawakura, consisting of five single-occupant units.

Among these, three units obtained FSC® Project Certification. Project certification can be either partial or full, and what we achieved was Full Project Certification. This meant that not only the timber used in the buildings, but even the paper-based materials, were all FSC®-certified.

For plywood and lumber (columns) that A-Zero Group could not manufacture in-house, we purchased logs harvested from Nishiawakura’s forests and worked in collaboration with partner companies inside and outside the village that hold FSC® COC certification to prepare the necessary materials.

The columns were sawn at an outsourced facility within Nishiawakura, then dried, shaped, and processed at A-Zero Group before being supplied. As for plywood, we worked with Nisshin Co., Ltd. (which has been supplying FSC®-certified plywood since 2017): we sold them timber, they manufactured the plywood, and we then bought back the finished certified plywood for use in the project.

Even before we announced the establishment of a “supply system for FSC®-certified timber for large-scale buildings,” by leveraging our networks inside and outside the village, we had already been able to supply FSC®-certified timber for relatively small, one-off building projects.

— So then, what is different about the newly announced “supply capacity equivalent to more than 300 homes”?

Kawaguchi: One major change is that Hyogo Mokuzai Center Cooperative (HMC) has obtained FSC® COC certification.

Up until now, we had a transaction with HMC where we sold them logs, had them saw the timber, and then bought back the lumber. During the nationwide timber shortage known as the “wood shock,” we received a request from Aiwa Home Corporation, a long-time supporter since our founding, to supply structural timber. We worked hard to respond, and through that process we deepened our collaboration with HMC and began serious distribution and sales of structural timber.

Amid this progression, we thought, “If HMC could start manufacturing FSC®-certified timber, then certified structural timber could also be distributed stably.” We continued to make this proposal to HMC. And this spring, recognizing the value, HMC officially obtained FSC® COC certification.

As a result, we finally have a system in which the large volume of timber used in buildings can be fully supplied as FSC®-certified: structural timber from HMC, structural plywood from Nisshin, and interior/finish materials from A-Zero Group.

 

A Future We Believe We Can Build, Now That the System Is in Place

— Hearing how, over more than 15 years since the founding, you have been given opportunities to take on challenges, gained experience, and expanded your networks, I now have a clear picture of how you arrived at this point. Could you tell us about the team within A-Zero Group that handles timber supply?

Kawaguchi: First, Nishioka, who has been involved since the beginning in building timber distribution systems, serves as the team leader. I myself handle on-site sales. Nasu is responsible for logistics and project management, and Ikuno is our dedicated staff member for product development and design proposals. Together, we form a team.

We have established a structure that can cover a wide range of roles, including planning, sales, and administration, and we are working as a team with the functions of a trading company.

— Now that this new system is in place, what kind of future are you aiming to build?

Kawaguchi: As a company, our strongest desire is to overcome the current situation where timber is difficult to sell.

In addition, for international events, it has become common for FSC®-certified timber to be recommended for use in construction, though the percentage used varies by project. At the recent Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games (originally scheduled for 2020, held in 2021), FSC® timber was only used partially. That was truly frustrating for us.

One of our goals at A-Zero Group is to one day take part in supplying timber for the buildings of an international event.

FSC®-certified timber is trustworthy because it ensures strict traceability and is produced under rigorous management standards. However, because Japan’s timber distribution system is so highly specialized and segmented, FSC® timber has often been seen as “safe, but difficult to use.” We feel this was one of the reasons it was not more widely adopted at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Now that we can supply stable, large volumes, we believe we can bring the industry closer to a world where FSC® timber is “used as a matter of course.” Instead of being swept away by short-term profit motives that promote cheap, mass timber supply, we want to build a future in which forests thrive and people’s lives are enriched by being surrounded with wood. We intend to keep moving forward, step by step, toward that future.

Looking at it from another angle, this is also deeply connected to the growing global focus on the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). In the coming years, major homebuilders and companies that use timber will be required to build supply chains that account for biodiversity and to report on them properly. Since FSC®-certified forests provide proof of biodiversity-conscious management, we hope that more companies will become interested in FSC® from this perspective as well.

※4 What is TNFD?
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) is an international initiative that provides a framework for companies to understand their relationship with nature — including biodiversity, water resources, and soil — as well as the related risks and opportunities, and to disclose this information in a way that is clear to investors and stakeholders. Until now, a framework called TCFD existed for “climate change.” TNFD, however, focuses on the “natural environment as a whole.” It aims to clarify and report on questions such as: What impacts do corporate activities have on nature? and What risks do changes in the natural environment pose to companies?

 

From our experience supplying timber for large-scale buildings such as Naoshima Hall, we have consistently upheld the attitude that “no matter how large the volume, if asked, we will always deliver.”

Now, at last, we feel we have reached the stage where we can meet the demands of large-scale construction projects while remaining committed to FSC®-certified timber and contributing to better forest management.

At present, we have established a system capable of supplying the equivalent of 300 homes. But we are not content with this; moving forward, we aim to expand the circle even further, hand in hand with like-minded partners in other regions — forestry professionals and members of the timber industry.

This initiative is something we could never achieve alone. By working together with FSC® JAPAN, we are also taking on the challenge of building partnerships that will continue into the future.

 

— If you are interested in FSC® timber supply, please feel free to contact us.

Email: 　mokuzai-info@a-zero.co.jp