PEFC™ - Quality recognition by a forest certification scheme

Wood and wood products that carry the certification seal are from sustainable forestry that operates in an economical, environmental and social way - especially in terms of customer trust. The PEFC certificate includes the entire downstream value chain, which not only contains sawmills and the wood trade, but also focuses on carpenter companies and print shops. It is part of their duties that they must comply to the strict requirements of the certification system. Notified and state-accredited certification departments monitor the compliance of PEFC-guidelines of the PEFC certified factories.

Three quarters of the Austrian forest are already managed today by following the strict PEFC standards.,. Worldwide it’s a forest area of over 320 million hectares - which is almost ten times the area of Germany.

The goal of this certification system is to preserve the forest with its many important functions for future generations. The measures that were decided at the Ministerial Conference in Helsinki, 1993, are based on the following criteria:

1. conservation and appropriate enhancement of forest resources and their contribution to global carbon cycles
2. maintaining the health and the vitality of forest ecosystems
3. maintenance and enhancement of the production function of forests (wood and non-timber products)
4.  conservation, protection and appropriate enhancement of the biodiversity in forest’s ecosystems
5. preservation and improvement of the protective function in the forest management (especially soil and water)
6. maintenance of other socioeconomic functions and conditions

The PEFC website shows, which companies are certified. The website also offers an extensive search that calls up companies, but also specific industries and product groups. Business partners and consumers can check their suppliers and search for them. The search can also be individually filtered by industry and product.

There are 6 steps to the PEFC certification:

1.  Initial interview: as a company you must sign up to a locally independent certification department. This department will overlook the company regarding the PEFC Chain of Custody Standards (PEFC CoC Standards).
2.  Set up the system: the essential components of PEFC Chain of Custody certification contain proper and sustainable management, procurement and social standards as well as health and safety
3.  sustainable management: give priority in your procurement policy to suppliers who offer wood from sustainable forestry.
4.  internal communication: the more your employees know about the project and are also convinced, the better for the implementation of sustainable measures.
5.  external communication: to ensure a sustainable and climate friendly forest, you also need to win more combatants. Share your actions with the public and let customers and suppliers know about it. The PEFC logo, everybody knows that sustainable work is included
6. continuity: to keep the certificate intact annual audits are important. The PEFC CoC certificate is valid for a maximum of five years.
    

The partners of the PEFC Council

Not only member countries, but also associations and companies operating in several countries, can join the PEFC Council (PEFCC). By joining, they can acquire seats and votes in the General Assembly as "stakeholder" members. The PEFCC board consists 13 people and is represented in all groups which are interested in the forests. These include representatives of forest owners, the timber industry and trade, as well as representatives of trade unions, environmental associations and indigenous peoples.

Source

PEFC Austria - PEFC Austria