Overview

The SIA is an association of stove manufacturers, distributors & retailers, wood fuel suppliers, flue and glass manufacturers and industry supporters like HETAS and Kiwa. With 39 members, it is able to represent the stove industry with government departments such as Defra and BEIS. DEFRA, BEIS and the chair of the Select Committee on the Environmental Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee see the SIA as the voice of the industry & regularly contact the SIA for the industry’s viewpoint. It is likely that European product standards will continue to influence the UK industry, even after Brexit. The SIA represents the UK in CEFACD, the European stove association, which can communicate the European stove industry view to the Commission. The SIA also works closely with HETAS and Woodsure. The SIA has established strong contacts with the academic community. Establishing close links with King’s College, London and the Supergen Biomass Hub, based at Manchester University and covering a number of universities across the UK. From the outset, the SIA has sought to inform the public and the government about the carbon saving benefits of wood burning stoves. More recently the SIA has successfully shown Defra that modern clean burning stoves can reduce particulate emissions (PM) from wood burning compared to open fires and older wood burning stoves, through the Ecodesign Ready scheme. Ecodesign Ready stoves have been welcomed by Defra, as a significant way to reduce emissions. Defra has included the Ecodesign Ready scheme in its plans to improve air quality. In order to secure this endorsement, the SIA has carried out independent tests to support / validate the industry viewpoint. The launch of Ecodesign Ready stoves, in Westminster, was sponsored by Neil Parish, Chairman of the Select Committee on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.