How can I get involved?

End customer/consumer – you can

purchase a PEFC-labelled product or ask
Wood-processing enterprise, business-to-
to see the chain of custody certificate to
business customer/supplier, trader or
be sure that you are contributing to the
retailer – you may wish to get your
sustainable management of forests and
product flow certified. Doing so gives
their certification.
your products access to the PEFC logo

Photography courtesy of ONF, Finnforest Corporation, Villac.

for communication purposes. If you use
Woodland owner – you may want to
a trademarked logo in your marketing
obtain a PEFC certificate for your forest
communications for wood/paper products
management. To do so, contact your
that have successfully passed along any
national PEFC certification scheme at
part of or all of the chain of custody, you
www.pefc.org which will provide details
encourage your customers and the general
of certification bodies operating in
public at large to make a positive choice
your area.
for sustainable forest management by
buying products carrying the PEFC logo.
Interested parties – if you are interested in
sustainable forest management and its
Your national PEFC representative
certification and wish to become involved
(www.pefc.org) will be happy to provide
in PEFC in your country or to promote
you with the background information

Designed and produced by Wyatt International Limited, Birmingham. Printed in England.

sustainable forest management through
necessary to obtain a PEFC chain of
PEFC for educational purposes, contact
custody and logo for your enterprise.
your national PEFC representative at
www.pefc.org

PEFC has also launched a fully

interactive database on the

sustainable forestry
world wide web at www.pefc.org
There anyone can search and
find information on any
certificate or logo licence
number relating to any forest or
chain of custody certification in
every PEFC-endorsed scheme.
and forest certification
Check it out for yourself online.
It’s what you
For more information please visit our web pages to find out the local PEFC contact
in your country: www.pefc.org sell that makes
the difference

The PEFC Council

Registered as an asbl in Luxembourg
No. 1999-61-02192

17 Rue des Girondins

L-1626 Luxembourg
Tel: +352 26 25 90 59
Fax: +352 26 25 92 58
E-mail: pefc@pt.lu
www.pefc.org
 The challenge
for wood
Consumers in growing numbers are seeking evidence of environmentally sound
business practices. Public authorities and enterprise procurement policies
increasingly demand reassurance and proof from the wood-processing
industries that the wood they use comes from sustainably managed sources.

Certification – a ready-made
assurance mechanism
PEFC provides an assurance mechanism
to purchasers of wood and paper products
that they are promoting the sustainable
management of forests. Sustainably
managed forests are those whose
management implements performance
standards based on internationally agreed
environmental, social and economic
requirements that form the cornerstones
of sustainability. Although many forests
are sustainably managed, the only way to
provide credible proof of this is through
independent checking.
By and large wood-based products have a
better overall environmental record than
Therefore someone who is independent,
competitor materials, but questions have
qualified and impartial – a certifier – needs
arisen about the management of the forests
to check that the forests are managed on
from which the wood originates. In order
the ground according to these cornerstones
to address this and to reassure their
and other key elements such as international
customers, industry and retailers need to
conventions including the International
provide proof that the products they sell
Labour Organisation (ILO) core conventions.
come from sustainably managed forests.
This is called forest certification.
In addition, a voluntary private sector proof
mechanism can be useful in complementing
Similarly, a certifier has to check that
government law enforcement endeavours to
enterprises have wood accounting systems
combat illegal logging.
in place, so that wood from a certified
forest can be traced from harvested tree
through to finished product. This is
called chain of custody certification.
Every enterprise is a link in the overall
‘chain’ for the wood from forest to the
final product. It is therefore important
that all enterprises dealing with wood
have their area of responsibility certified
to ensure that this ‘chain’ is complete.
Certification – what’s in it for you? responsible corporate citizens and
increasing access to their markets.
Forest and chain of custody certifications play
In addition, more and more customers
different roles for different stakeholders:
now specify wood from certified
sources only and, in some markets,
● consumers can support sustainable
demand is outstripping supply.
forestry through the purchase of products
that use raw material harvested from
● the wood-processing industry can
certified forests.
improve the image of its sector and
promote the use of its products.
● retailers/traders (customers of the
wood-processing industry) can support
● woodland owners can provide
their business activity by promoting
independent proof that their forests
the use of wood/paper products from
are managed according to sound
sustainably managed sources,
environmental, social and economic
fostering their public image as
practices adapted to local conditions,
and so improve market prospects for
their timber.

Sustainably managed forests are a

competitive benefit for the woodland
owners and wood-processing industry.
But this benefit will not be fully
realised until it is communicated to the
customer in an understandable and
convincing manner. This is what PEFC,
the world’s largest forest certification
scheme, really offers.
Certification is growing rapidly PEFC has already authorised hundreds of
enterprises that have undergone a chain
There are more than 50 regional or national
of custody certification to use the PEFC
forest certification systems throughout the
logo as a communications tool on their
world. Each is structured and based on
timber, paper and wood-based products.
different criteria. Since its launch in 1999,
Wood from a certified forest can then be
PEFC has become the world’s largest
traced from harvested tree through to
umbrella organisation for national forest
finished product by means of a number
certification schemes all over the world
of certified chains of custody.
(and in particular, Europe and North
America), ensuring the delivery of
hundreds of millions of tonnes of wood to
the processing industry and then onto the
market place from tens of millions of
hectares of certified forests. PEFC has
strong grass roots support from many
stakeholders including the forestry sector,
governments, trade associations, trade
unions and non-governmental organisations.
So successful has its approach been that
many more schemes from around the
world are joining, making PEFC a truly
global opportunity.

Communication with customers is

growing rapidly
An enterprise can make use of a PEFC
logo to communicate its sustainability
principles to its customers. In most
cases, companies with a chain of custody
certificate also choose to communicate
this by using a PEFC logo specifically
registered to that enterprise.
Forest certification – what is it?
An assessment from an independent, qualified and
accredited expert who verifies in writing that the
forest management practices comply with a series
of collectively agreed performance standards for
sustainability.
Chain of custody certification
– what is it?
An assessment from an independent, qualified
and accredited expert who verifies in writing that
the wood flow accounting system, applied by an
enterprise to trace the flow of wood from certified
forests through the enterprise, meets the exacting
requirements of the certification scheme.
Sustainable forest management
– what does it mean?
The common definition of sustainable forest
management agreed by the Ministerial Conference
on the Protection of Forests in Europe in 1993 is:
‘the stewardship and use of forests and forest
lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains
their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration
capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil,
now and in the future, relevant ecological,
economic and social functions at local, national
and global levels, and that does not cause
damage to other ecosystems.’

Criteria and example indicators for sustainable forest management

Growing stock Forest area

Balance
between growth under
Carbon storage
& removals management
General Non-wood
capacity products
Forest resources Productive
Land use functions of
& forest area & global
carbon cycles forests Public
participation &
Cultural values awareness
Defoliation Research and
education
Air pollutants
Sustainable Socio-economic
Forest health Recreational
Different & vitality Forest aspects services
damages Management
Significance of
Nutrient forest sector
balance & Employment
acidity

Protective Biological
functions of diversity General
Soil erosion forests protection

General Threatened
protection species Biodiversity Rare ecosystems
Water in production
conservation forests

Source: Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe

PEFC certification process – a summary
Separate bodies Action Result
National Forest Certification Certification Standard/Scheme
Standard Setting
Scheme
Forest Certificate

Certification Body Auditing

Chain of Custody Certificate

Assessment of Certification Confirmation on Accreditation

National Accreditation Body
Body Competence of Certification Body

PEFC Council Licensing of Logo Usage PEFC Logo on Products

Assessment of Certification Mutual Recognition

Scheme

Why is PEFC so successful? Ministerial Conference on ● The open, transparent and

●
the Protection of Forests in democratic decision-making
PEFC respects and relies on
Europe. This conference grew process of PEFC ensures the
worldwide, internationally agreed
out of the UN Conference on possibility of multiple stakeholder
processes for certification and
Environment and Development participation at local, national and
sustainable forestry as the basis
at Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and is international level. Its approach
on which to build national
an on-going process. This ensures is anchored in active participation
certification standards and
that, if the Ministerial Conference and implementation at grass
schemes. These processes
(representing the governments of roots level.
include the inter-governmental
37 countries) agrees on changes
processes for sustainable forest
in any aspect of sustainable ● The certification model applied
management developed in
forest management, those by PEFC ensures that the
consultation with thousands of
changes will be put into practice procedures and their monitoring
forestry experts and stakeholders
through PEFC certification. are always independent of one
from interested parties.
another, as separate professional
● National forest certification bodies perform each of them.
● PEFC provides a framework
schemes remain independent
through which national and
but co-operate with each other
regional certification schemes
under the PEFC umbrella to
can integrate internationally
ensure that the wood from
agreed criteria with their local
each scheme meets equivalent
circumstances. The forest
standards and so can be
management performance
traded internationally.
standards of national PEFC
schemes are based on the
● Through PEFC, customers,
results of inter-governmental
trade and industry all over
processes such as the
the world can rely on the fact
that forest management
with PEFC certification
in any country will exceed
the internationally approved
strict requirements.