Forest Management Certification

PEFC Canada represents the interests of organizations in Canada that are certified to the PEFC-endorsed Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) standards.

PEFC Canada works closely with the CSA SFM User Group, a voluntary association of organizations that have certified their forestry operations to the CSA SFM standards.  More information about the User Group and the CSA SFM Standard is available on their website at www.csasfmforests.ca.

The CSA SFM standards were developed by CSA’s Technical Committee on Sustainable Forest Management, a broad-based stakeholder group which includes representatives from forestry academia and research, forest companies, environmental groups, consumer groups, labour unions, Aboriginal peoples, and government.

The CSA Z809 Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) standard has both performance requirements and management system requirements. All CSA certifications require, among other things:

• recognition of environmental, economic, social and cultural values
• conservation of biological diversity
• ongoing public participation

The CSA Z804 Sustainable Forest Management for Woodlots and Other Small Area Forests standard is intended for use by woodlot owners or managers of forests up to 4,000 hectares in area. It addresses the sustainable forest management of defined woodlots, including the requirements for public consultation, performance, and system frameworks promoting continual improvement. It also lists the specific requirements that must be addressed, audited, and approved before certification can be achieved.

Any forest company or individual with management responsibility for public or private forest land may seek certification to the CSA SFM standards regardless of the size of the forest area - from a few hectares to several million hectares.

Certification to the CSA SFM standards requires an independent third party audit conducted by a certification body accredited by a member of the International Accreditation Forum such as the Standards Council of Canada. The initial certification audit is followed up by an annual surveillance audit, with recertification audits occurring every three years.

Steps in becoming certified to the CSA SFM standards:

1. Contact an SFM-accredited certification body
2. Complete all the requirements in the standard
3. Organize with the certification body an on-site third party audit of all the requirements in the standard including a field verification of the forest condition
4. Respond to any audit findings of noncompliance to the standard to the satisfaction of the certification body
5. Receive the certificate of registration from the certification body
6. An annual surveillance audit is required to maintain certification