Displaying items by tag: PEFC

Cerflor, the Brazilian Forest Certification Programme, has submitted its revised system, which includes the forest management standards for native forests as well as for planted forests, for PEFC endorsement. Stakeholders globally are invited to comment on the national scheme by 30th October 2010.

Cerflor is a voluntary programme developed together with representatives from different stakeholders at the national level. It includes representatives from producers, consumers, governments, NGO's and other organizations, such as universities and research institutions.

The Brazilian Government, through the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) and the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), has supported the development of a national forest certification programme.

The standard setting process of the Cerflor system was carried out at the national level by the Brazilian Association for Standardization (ABNT), following internationally agreed procedures on standardization, based on ISO/IEC Guide 59:1994 Code of good practice for standardization.

Cerflor was originally endorsed by PEFC in October 2005. Please submit your comments by 30th October 2010 using PEFC's Online Consultation Tool.

Further Information

• Participate in the Online Consultation
• CERFLOR Documentation Annexes 1 to 10 (1.5 MB)
• CERFLOR Documentation Annexes 11 to 12.1 (6.3 MB)
• CERFLOR Documentation Annex 12.2 (5.1 MB)
• CERFLOR Documentation Annexes 13 to 20 (7.1 MB)
• CERFLOR Documentation Annexes 21 to 32 (17.3 MB)
• Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Following a comprehensive, in-depth assessment, PEFC International has endorsed the PEFC Scheme of the Republic of Belarus, providing responsible forest enterprises and managers in the Eastern European country with access to global markets for certified timber and timber products.

“With forests covering almost one-third of the total land area of Belarus, their responsible use is essential for the sustainable development of our Republic”, says Aleh Atroshchanka, Chairman of PEFC-Belarus. “While Belarus has been promoting sustainable forest management since gaining independence in 1991, it faced a number of challenges such as forest fires, pest, etc.  In addition, some 1.6 million hectares of forest soil remain contamination by nuclear fallout. PEFC certification is therefore an important tool for us to promote sustainable forest management and to raise awareness for the need to balance the environmental, social and economic provisions that forests offer.”

The decision to establish a forest certification system in Belarus was already adopted in 1999 and national regulations on forest certification were approved in 2000. The regulations set the basic objectives, tasks, and requirements for forest certification and describe the organizational structure and functions of certification bodies. The Belarusian Association of Forest Certification System (RAFC),, which currently counts about 90 institutions and organizations as members, was established in 2005 and became PEFC member in the same year.

The PEFC Scheme of the Republic of Belarus was submitted to the PEFC Council for the conformity assessment in December 2007. In October 2008 the assessment was interrupted for the further Scheme amendments. The assessment restarted in December 2009 based on the revised Scheme documentation submitted to PEFC in April 2009 and amended in July 2009.

Note: The endorsement is only valid for the Bealrus forest management standard, not for the Belarus Chain of Custody standard. Only Chain of Custody certificates issued against the international PEFC Chain of Custody standard are PEFC recognized Chain of Custody certificates in Belarus.

Further Information

• Scheme Documentation (7.2 MB)
• Assessment Report (1.5 MB)

OTHER ONGOING PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS

• PEFC Uruguay (ends 26 September 2010)
• Sustainable Forestry Initative (ends 6 October 2010)
• MTCC - Malaysia (ends 17 October 2010)

Forest certification systems in Finland, Italy, Luxembourg and the Slovak Republic meet its globally recognized Sustainability Benchmarks and have been re-endorsed, PEFC International, the world’s largest forest certification organization, announced today. All systems successfully completed the comprehensive and thorough endorsement process and gained approval by the organization’s membership.

“We’re very pleased that we succeeded in achieving global recognition by PEFC International yet again,” said Joseph Crochet, President of PEFC Luxembourg asbl. “PEFC’s endorsement process is renowned for its rigor, and this outcome confirms the excellent work and high ambitions of our stakeholders nationally.”

National forest certification systems that have developed standards in line with PEFC requirements can apply for endorsement by PEFC International. To achieve endorsement, they need to meet PEFC’s Sustainability Benchmarks, which are based on broad societal consensus expressed in international, intergovernmental, multi-stakeholder processes and guidelines.

In addition to sustainable forest management requirements, the Sustainability Benchmarks also include strict requirements concerning the development of the standards at national level, PEFC Finland’s Chairperson Ritva Toivonen explained. “Extensive, transparent and inclusive collaboration of all interested parties is necessary and important,” Mrs. Toivonen emphasized. “PEFC forest certification is above all a people’s matter, not an organizations’ matter.”

Participation is also an integral part of the endorsement process at international level, which requires an independent assessor to address all comments submitted by stakeholders globally during a mandatory, sixty day consultation period.

“The value that PEFC brings to the forest cannot be underestimated, not only in terms of sustainability benefits, but also as a mechanism requiring ongoing dialogue among all actors,” said Antonio Brunori, Secretary General of PEFC Italy. “With PEFC requiring national standards to be revised every five years, stakeholders keep in contact and continue to refine their understanding of the most appropriate approach to sustainable forest management at local level. In Italy, this resulted in an increase of prescriptive elements and additional normative indicators that forest managers need to comply with in order to achieve PEFC certification."

“PEFC offers an ideal framework for continuous improvement,” Hubert Palus, PEFC Slovak Republic National Secretary agreed. “PEFC’s bottom up approach requires standards to be locally developed as opposed to globally adopted. This forces local stakeholders to carefully consider and elaborate what best delivers sustainable forestry within their specific national context, while at the same time being in compliance with globally recognized benchmarks.”

Scheme Documentation & Assessment Reports

• PEFC Finland
• PEFC Italy
• PEFC Luxembourg
• PEFC Slovak Republic

The unwillingness of consumers to pay price premiums for certified timber and timber products poses challenges for sustainable forest management, the Royal Dutch Association of Timber Trade Association (NTTA) has warned.

In a recent statement, the NTTA reported that their members’ imports coming from forest certified as sustainably managed by either PEFC or FSC rose from 45% in 2006 to 62% of total imports in 2009. Growth in demand for certified material, however, fell short of the available supply. With supply exceeding demand, traders had to mix certified material with uncertified material and sell it as uncertified.

NTTA warned that this undesirable development poses a threat to sustainable forestry as demand for certified products is a key driver for forest certification and sustainable forest management.

NTTA is now jointly with the Dutch Association of Timber Manufacturers (NBvT) developing a joint strategic plan “Smart with timber”, accompanied by an action plan “Conscious with timber” to enhance the profile of certified wood.

The objective of this joint initiative is to stimulate demand for certified timber and to make the use of PEFC and FSC standard practice in the Netherlands. Both PEFC and FSC are accepted for Dutch public procurement, following extensive assessments by the Dutch Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC).

Nationally, growth in imports of certified timber (excluding paper) rose from 13% in 2005 to 34% in 2008.

“The volume of certified timber available in the Netherlands demonstrates that Dutch traders take their responsibility for th sustainable management of the world’s forests seriously”, said Kees Boon from PEFC Netherlands.

“We now need all forest stakeholders in business, government and civil society to work together to raise the awareness of the importance of this topic among consumers. The joint initiative by NTTA and NBvT is a good example for this, and PEFC Netherlands is committed to work with all parties to positively change consumer behavior nationally as an important means to provide incentives for sustainable forest management globally.”

The North American-based Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) has applied for assessment and re-endorsement by PEFC, the leading global forest certification umbrella organization. All stakeholders are invited to comment on the compliance of SFI 2010-2014 Standard with PEFC's Sustainability Benchmarks by 6 October 2010.

"With more than half of the total global certified area located in North America, it is important that certification criteria applied there meet internationally-recognized sustainability requirements," said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC International Secretary General. "PEFC only endorses forest certification schemes developed in an open and transparent manner through a multi-stakeholder process, and standards must be reviewed at least every five years to incorporate the latest information and scientific knowledge."

The review process leading to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard was 18 months long, and included two public comment periods and seven regional workshops. It was monitored by the External Review Panel, an independent team of external experts who offer diverse perspectives and expertise to the SFI programme.

Panel Chair Michael Goergen, Executive Vice-President of the Society of American Foresters, called the review "a model of open, transparent, and responsible consideration of public input, scientific and economic factors, and conflicting demands."

The SFI programme responds to local needs and issues across North America through 37 SFI Implementation Committees at the state, provincial or regional level. This unique grassroots network involves private landowners, independent loggers, forestry professionals, local government agencies, academics, scientists, and conservationists.

The SFI 2010-2014 Standard is currently independently assessed by Systain Consulting for compliance with PEFC International's Sustainability Benchmarks. The global public consultation is a essential element of the assessment, providing interested parties with the opportunity to comment on the standard.

The SFI forest certification standard was originally endorsed by PEFC in December 2005, with the current endorsement expiring on 6th December 2010.

Please submit your comments by 6 October 2010 using PEFC's Online Consultation Tool.

Uruguay has become the latest Latin American country to submit its national forest certification scheme for PEFC endorsement. As part of the independent assessment, stakeholders globally are invited to submit feedback and comments on the Uruguayan Forest Certification Scheme before 26 September 2010.

"With forestry being one of the most important and fastest growing sectors in Uruguay, the sustainable management of the forest resource is of fundamental importance to ensure the provision of long term environmental, social and economic benefits," said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC International Secretary General."The current assessment analyses the compliance of certification requirements of the Uruguayan Forest Certification Scheme with PEFC's internationally accepted Sustainability Benchmarks."

Global stakeholder consultation is an important part of the assessment, enabling all interested parties to provide insights and information on the scheme's compatibility with PEFC requirements.

"One of PEFC's unique features is that it enables the independent development of national standards tailored to the political, economic, social, environmental and cultural realities of the respective countries," explained Mr. Gunneberg. "These standards must at the same time meet PEFC's global requirements, which is verified through the assessment process."

In addition to the independent assessment and stakeholder consultation, the assessment report itself is subject to a review by a Panel of Experts and elaborations by the Board of Directors before PEFC members vote on the recognition of the national system the organization.

If approved, Uruguay would become the third Latin American country featuring a PEFC-endorsed national forest certification system.

Please submit your comments by 26 September using PEFC's Online Consultation Tool.

In a letter steered by Congressmen Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to the U.S. Green Building Council, 79 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing 35 different states, have urged the organization to "accept all credible forest certification systems for qualification under the LEED rating system" including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.  On the heels of the letter from this bipartisan group of Members of Congress, USGBC today received a petition with nearly 6,000 signatories calling for LEED recognition of all "wood and paper products certified to independent, respected and credible standards including SFI, ATFS, CSA, FSC, and PEFC." In addition, six members of Congress have sent their own letters urging an inclusive LEED policy.

"From the halls of Congress to other elected officials across North America to architects, builders, family tree farmers and forestry and sustainability experts around the world, the support for a change in LEED has grown exponentially," said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI Inc.).  "Wood should be recognized for its environmental merits, and third-party certified forest products should be given additional credit."

More than three quarters of certified forests in North America are certified to standards not currently recognized by USGBC.  The letter from the House members states that maintaining the status quo will mean builders seeking LEED certification "would be discouraged to use third-party certified SFI and ATFS products" grown in the U.S., while opening LEED to other forest certification programs "could stimulate the market for American produced forest products and the communities and jobs that depend on both."

In a letter to USGBC President Rick Fedrizzi that was delivered with the SFI petition, Abusow wrote that it has "stimulated a tremendous outpouring of support, tapping into a broad and diverse community" and that "it's difficult to ignore the voices of almost 6,000 people from around the world who took the time to respond."

U.S. Governors and Canadian Officials Support Opening LEED

In addition to the petition signers and Members of Congress, 10 U.S. Governors – representing Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Oregon, Virginia and Washington – have written letters to the USGBC to voice their concerns over the current approach to wood product certification.   The Canadian Council of Forest Ministers as well as individual provincial ministers have also written letters to the USGBC to show their support for all credible forest certification standards.  To see a complete summary of the professional organizations and governments that have chimed in on this issue, visit sfiprogram.org/leed.

Global Recognition of Multiple Credible Certification Standards

Numerous green building rating systems around the globe have recognized all credible forest certification programs.  This includes ANSI/ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard, ANSI/GBI Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings, Built Green Canada, CASBEE in Japan, BREEAM in the United Kingdom and the Australian Green Building Council's Green Star Program.  In addition, green building codes, including the draft International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and ASHRE 189.1, also recognize multiple forest certification programs.

"The road through the USGBC review process has not been short or uncomplicated, and in the end, we hope the organization gets past this outdated process and the politics around the LEED forest certification policy. For the sake of our forests, our communities, the tens of thousands of family foresters who make their livelihoods from forestry, and the future of green building across North America and globally, it is time for USGBC to do the right thing and recognize all credible forest certification standards, including SFI, ATFS, PEFC, CSA and FSC," said Abusow. "It's what other green building programs and codes globally already have applied. Multiple forest certification programs push each other to do better, and they serve different needs."

About SFI Inc.

SFI Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, and is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program (sfiprogram.org), that is internationally recognized and among the largest in the world. It is one of the fastest-growing forest certification programs with close to 200 million acres/80 million hectares of SFI-certified forests across North America. The SFI Standard also includes unique fiber sourcing requirements that promote responsible forest management on all suppliers' lands. SFI chain-of-custody certification tracks certified, uncertified and recycled content as applicable in the product. The SFI forest standard is endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, a global umbrella organization that has strict requirements for endorsement. SFI Inc. is governed by a three-chamber board of directors representing environmental, social and economic sectors equally.

SOURCE Sustainable Forestry Initiative

PEFC is organizing a webinar to discuss and elaborate on the enquiry draft of an Appendix to the revised PEFC Chain of Custody standard (revision still ongoing), defining Social Requirements within the PEFC Chain of Custody. The webinar will take place on Wedenesday, 7th July 2010, 4 PM (Central European Summer Time).

"Social issues have long been an integral part of forest certification, which verifies that forest management satisfies the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development," said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC Secretary General. "Yet Chain of Custody certification has so far been limited to tracking certified material through the production process, from the forest to the consumer."

The proposal to expand the scope of Chain of Custody certification and include social, health and safety requirements is one of the outcomes of the 2009 global public consultation on the enquiry draft of the revised Chain of Custody standard.

The requirements would oblige PEFC-certified organizations to demonstrate that they:

• ensure workers' freedom of associations and rights for collective bargaining
• prohibit the use of forced labour covering the organization
• ensure minimum age for workers
• ensure equal employment that covers recruitment, promotion, division of work and dismissal, and
• ensure occupational health and safety, including its documentation and reporting.

Stakeholders globally are invited to provide comments and feedback on the draft requirements . If the requirements are approved following this consultation and the integration of the input received, PEFC would become the first global system to demand compliance with key requirements of the fundamental ILO conventions along the whole supply chain.

The Enquiry Draft of the Appendix definig Social Requirements within the PEFC Chain of Custody are available for global public consultation online until 23rd July 2010. Access online

A new 12" album hits the shops next month – Brownswood Recordings' Havana Cultura Remixed presented by internationally renowned DJ Gilles Peterson.

What makes this album unique is that it is the first to print the record sleeve on Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) certified paper and will also use the logo to prove it.

The album packaging was produced by London-based project management company, Clear Sound & Vision Ltd (CSV). The company was formed in 1997 and since then has worked predominantly within the music and film industries; managing and providing solutions for manufacturing of CDs, CD ROMs, DVDs, vinyl pressings and associated print, packaging and design. In recent years CSV has seen their client base extend both in and outside of the entertainment business. CSV works regularly with leading blue chip clients including Sony Music, EMI, Warner Music, O2 and Barclays.

As a major part of CSV's business is the provision of bespoke packaging solutions, the company has always been keen to demonstrate its strong commitment to using environmentally friendly products. In order to be able to provide its customers with assurances of responsibly sourced packaging materials, earlier this year the company recently achieved dual PEFC/Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody certification. Chain of custody certification is the process by which wood-based products can be traced back to responsibly managed forests.

Commenting on its latest project, CSV's Clive Robins said "We take our commitment to responsible packaging very seriously and gained PEFC and FSC Chain of Custody certification to provide assurances to our customers. We are proud to demonstrate our support for responsible forest management by including both the PEFC and FSC logos on our packaging. We believe that these accreditations are valuable to both our business and our customers and it is something we actively promote to our clients."

Welcoming CSV's decision, PEFC UK Chairman, Peter Latham said, "We are delighted that Clear Sound and Vision has chosen this highly visible means of demonstrating their participation in the PEFC programme. With over 600 companies now having a licence to use the PEFC logo, it is beginning to appear on more and more consumer-facing printed products. However, this is the first time a company has used the logo this way and it presents an excellent opportunity to increase awareness of the PEFC logo to discerning consumers."

PEFC International is pleased to invite all stakeholders to comment on the enquiry drafts of its Tropical Natural Forest Management Standard by 10 August 2010.

The consultation is part of PEFC's ongoing Standards Revision process, with the enquiry drafts of the Boreal and Temperate Forest Management Standard and the Standards for Group Certification and Standards Setting already available for public consultation (deadline: 30 June 2010).

"The sustainable management of the world's forest concerns all of us. Forests have a vast potential to contribute to tackling climate change, they are the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystem, and they directly or indirectly support the livelihoods of millions of people." said Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC International, at the start of the consultation of the previously released enquiry drafts.

"With PEFC's Sustainability Benchmarks defining the management of more than 220 million hectares of forests globally, it is our collective responsibility as forest stakeholders to integrate best practice, new scientific knowledge, societal expectations, as well as practical experiences on the ground, into standards that are globally relevant and locally applicable."

Mr. Gunneberg encouraged all stakeholders to share their knowledge and expertise in this public consultation to ensure that the standard is well aligned with global and local expectations and provides an optimal framework for tropical forest management practices delivering on all three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social and economic.

"With the vast majority of the world's certified forests located in the Global North, there is a real need to revisit forest certification requirements in detail and ensure their applicability in countries with less favourable structures, especially in the tropics, in Asia, South America and Africa – regions in which arguably the most vulnerable forests are located, and in which the potential of forest management to lift people out of poverty is greatest."

More Information

Stakeholders are encouraged to focus their comments on the content of the draft standard and its requirements rather than its structure as the Standards Revision working group is considering the possibility to merge both the Boreal and Temperate Forest Management Standard and the Tropical Natural Forest Management Standard into one document.

• PEFC ST 1003:20xx, Part 2 - Requirements for Sustainable Forest Management Standards (view document, download document 211 kb or access consultation)

Other Ongoing Consultations

• Access PEFC's Online Consultation Tool
• PEFC ST 1003:200x Part 1 – Requirements for SFM in boreal and temperate forests and forest plantations (view document, download document 187 kb or access consultation)
• PEFC ST 1001:200x – Standard setting (view document, download document 120 kb or access consultation)
• PEFC ST 1002:200x – Group forest management certification (view document, download document 101 kb or access consultation)
• Social Requirements in Chain of Custody Certification (Appendix 4: Social, health and safety requirements in chain of custody) (view document, download document 37 kb, or access consultation)