FTMA Members Finding Their Voice – Loud & Proud Carbon Warriors

At the beginning of the year, FTMA Strategic Partner, Meyer Timber, embraced their inner Carbon Warrior, making a custom order of Carbon Warrior merch for their conference.

We spoke to Afzal Laphir of Meyer Timber to ask why they bought the tees for their conference and what the response was to Carbon Warrior.

See his answers below, but TL;DR – the result – a bunch of loud and proud Carbon Warriors at Meyer Timber.

What made Meyer Timber want to buy the Carbon Warrior Tees for their conference?

A. We needed to promote that timber is the construction material of the future and to tell the story that it is a ‘life-giving’ resource rather than a ‘life-taking’ one. Carbon Warrior tees gave us an ideal avenue to reach out to the wider community and tell this story. As you may know, David Meyer’s motivation to buy the TBS business was about creating an opportunity for timber to compete with concrete and steel. So, the drive to increase timber’s share in construction has always been entrenched at Meyer Timber.

What the response from your team? Did they like the tees, the message etc?

A. The entire Meyer Timber team has embraced this with passion and the most pleasing thing is that most of them have continued wearing them after the conference. Most staff wear the tees to work and have given some out to customers as well. They look good and the subtle nature of the message makes it attractive.

We refer to our merch as discussion starters, did you find the tees created discussions on the environmental benefits of timber with your team?

A. Absolutely, it has invited a few conversations.

The tees started the conversation “What is Carbon Warrior”, then you turn your back to give them a partial answer “Creating a Greener Future” and then continue with the story.

We had an interesting experience where this messaging started from a Meyer Timber staff (Denis from IT) and through his daughter Olivia, this ended up with her university friends. They are proudly wearing it around Monash University. Olivia, who is studying Science at Monash, is familiar with the climate crisis and creating awareness and being responsible in this regard comes naturally to her. So, she and her friends were excited by the messaging on the tees and their initial comments were “really cool logo” and “simple caption on front and back”. Olivia’s dad had done well to ‘link’ the message to the use of timber in construction!

Did you find the tees helped with educating your own people on the role timber plays in tackling our climate crisis?

A. Yes, it certainly did. On the surface, the message on the tees appears to be of low profile, but people soon realise the substance behind the message is high profile and an important one at that. I have shared the FTMA’s document on “Carbon Warrior discussion points” with the entire Meyer timber team, which will become a useful resource in educating people.

Why are you Afzal, a proud Carbon Warrior?

A. I want to be part of something good for the world and the message about timber’s potential as a construction material must be told and I have personally committed to doing so. Being a Carbon Warrior makes it all the more easier as you are part of a larger team striving for a common goal. Throughout my 25-year career as a passionate timber engineer, I have always explored timber as the first choice structural material. In the beginning, it was its light-weight, low-cost and ease of installation that were seen as the benefits, which have now evolved to its renewability, negative carbon footprint and so much more.