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PEFC Canada is the PEFC national member for Canada. There are currently two PEFC-endorsed forest management certification systems operational in Canada: the Canadian National Forest Management Standard (CSA Z809:2016 (R2021) Sustainable Forest Management Standard) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Forest Management standard.
NEW! The PEFC Canada Board of Directors and Technical Committee have approved the PEFC Canada – Forest Management standard PEFC CAN ST 1001:20xx. This standard has been submitted to PEFC International and is currently undergoing the endorsement process. A copy of the standard submitted for re-endorsement is available for information purposes at this time; it may be subject to change through the assessment process. Once endorsed, this standard will replace the currently endorsed CSA Z809:2016(R2021) Sustainable Forest Management Standard
The SFI forest certification system, as a regional North American system, is also operational in the USA. SFI is the PEFC national member for the USA. For SFI system information visit https://forests.org/
This standard lays out the requirements for chain of custody certification for forest and tree based products – the conditions a company must meet in order to achieve PEFC certification. During the certification process, the certification body will assess the company against the requirements set out in this document. If the company complies, they will receive their PEFC chain of custody certificate.
PEFC chain of custody establishes the link from the forest to the market, tracking forest and tree based products from the forest to the final product. In addition, this standard includes management requirements, including on health, safety and labour issues.
The standard covers the requirements that entities must follow when using the PEFC trademarks, in order to ensure accurate, verifiable, relevant and non-misleading use of the PEFC logo and related claims. It defines the legal protection of the PEFC trademarks; rights to use them; trademarks usage categories and the requirements for on- and off-product usage.
All entities, including PEFC-certified companies and forest owners, brand owners, NGOs and PEFC members, most follow these requirements whenever using the PEFC trademarks.
This standard describes the requirements certification bodies must comply with in order to provide chain of custody certification, in addition to the accreditation requirements. It provides system specific requirements, and ensures that chain of custody audits take place consistently worldwide and are tailored to the specification of each PEFC chain of custody.
The new PEFC ST 1004:2024 standard, sets the requirements for certification bodies carrying out PEFC forest management certification. “With this new standard, we are fostering the harmonisation of requirements for certification bodies, ensuring consistency in the implementation of PEFC sustainable forest management certification worldwide,” highlighted Marta Martinez Pardo, Certification Programme Senior Manager. PEFC Canada will integrate these requirements into their PEFC system.
Training and guidance will be made available by PEFC Canada for the NEW PEFC Canada – Sustainable Forest Management standard this fall.
PEFC international sustainable forest management benchmark standards set out the criteria and indicators that are determined to be vital for the responsible management of any forest globally. However, the benchmarks cannot address all the different forest types and situations found at a country or local level.
Forests (and countries) are highly diverse. As is their management, legislation and law enforcement, local traditions, cultural and spiritual expectations, average property sizes and support structures. This diversity means there is more than one way to manage a forest responsibly. That is why PEFC International works through national forest management standards. This enables countries to tailor their forest management requirements to their specific forest ecosystems, legal and administrative framework, socio-cultural context and other relevant factors.
Then, thanks to the PEFC International endorsement process, PEFC International can ensure, through independent assessment process, that all standards meet the benchmarks; every system is different, but all must meet (and often exceed) global requirements. For PEFC International, how the national forest management standards are developed is as important as their final content. We therefore set out requirements for the national standard setting process, as well as performance and management requirements that national forest management standards must address.
For more information on PEFC benchmark standards and the endorsement process, visit www.pefc.org.
Guidance documents, as the name suggests, provide additional guidance for users, listed below are the most commonly requested guidance documents. To access all our PEFC international standards and guides, please visit the PEFC resources section.
For further information on how our standards are developed and further guidance on implementation of the PEFC standards, visit www.pefc.org.