PEFC International
About PEFC
An independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 1999, PEFC International is based on sustainable forest management criteria currently supported by 149 governments in countries that account for 85% of the world’s forest area. PEFC has the support of environmental organizations, trade unions, state authorities, forest owners and managers and timber traders, as well as producers and retailers of paper and timber products.
PEFC has in its membership 33 independent national forest certification systems of which 23 to date have been through a rigorous assessment process involving public consultation and the use of independent assessors to provide the assessments on which mutual recognition decisions are taken by the membership. These 23 systems account for more than 200 million hectares of certified forests producing millions of tonnes of certified timber to the market place making PEFC the world's largest certification system. The other national members schemes are at various stages of development and are working towards mutual recognition under the PEFC processes.
PEFC Endorsement
In order to be endorsed by PEFC, a standard must meet a number of PEFC requirements. The first step to endorsement is the completion of a detailed checklist with more than 300 questions covering standard setting process, forestry content including compliance with intergovernmental criteria and operational level guidelines, chain-of-custody, certification and accreditation requirements.
In North America, the Canadian Standards Association’s CAN/CSA-Z809-02 and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s SFI 2005-2009 have both been endorsed and the American Tree Farm Standard is currently undergoing assessment.
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In Short:
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PEFC is the world’s largest certification program.
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It has endorsed 23 national programs covering 200 million hectares (> 500 million acres).
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PEFC is based on sustainable forest management criteria developed and supported by 149 governments that account for 85% of the world’s forests.
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PEFC Technical Documents for Endorsement Process
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About the organizations:
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CSA SFM Program [pdf]
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SFI ® Program
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PEFC International
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ATFS
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SFM Certification Standards:
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Take environmental, social, and economic factors into account
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Are based on requirements audited on site by an independent third party
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CoC Standards:
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Track forest products from the forest of origin to the end user
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Products covered by the chain of custody can include pulp and paper, transportation, processing , and even Christmas trees!
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