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While the concept of sustainable forest management is global, its implementation is local. This is why PEFC International works with national governing bodies such as PEFC Canada to advance responsible forestry through national forest certification systems. PEFC Canada takes this concept further and requires participation and communication with local Indigenous Peoples, communities, and interested parties.
PEFC Canada is pleased to announce the endorsement of the PEFC Canada – Sustainable Forest Management Standard (PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025). This updated standard reflects today’s forest management priorities in Canada. It incorporates:
The revised standard reflects current forest management issues in Canada, including recognition of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025 does not compromise on the core requirements to meet international sustainability benchmarks for environmental, cultural, social, and economic values while providing a framework for forest managers to plan and practice forest management activities in a way that reflects the diverse landscapes and values of Canadian forests at a local level.
Any forest company or organization with management responsibility for public or private forest land may seek certification to the PEFC Canada – Sustainable Forest Management standard regardless of the size of the forest area—from a few hectares to several million hectares.
PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025 has replaced the withdrawn CSA Z809:16(R2021) as the PEFC-endorsed forest management standard in Canada. This updated standard was developed by incorporating the technical content from CSA Z809:16(R2021), which was previously owned and administered by CSA Group.
Download English PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025
download french pefc can st 1001:2025
The vast geographical and ecological range of Canadian forests, combined with the country's cultural diversity adds to the challenge of developing a standard that is effective across all jurisdictions and situations in Canada.
That is why the Standard requires local engagement in developing local-specific targets for core indicators, ensuring alignment with international elements and objectives for sustainable forest management through a transparent and inclusive local process. These foundational aspects of the standard are consistent with the bottom-up approach of PEFC.
This Standard includes core requirements for international sustainability benchmarks for environmental, cultural, social, and economic values. To set international concepts for sustainable forest management in a Canadian context, the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) framework for sustainable forest management, composed of six criteria and 46 indicators, forms the basis of the requirements in PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025. The CCFM framework was designed to be consistent with the original Montréal Process and the seven thematic elements recognized by the United Nations General Assembly, internationally recognized as key components of sustainable forest management.
CCFM’s six criteria are biological diversity, ecosystem condition and productivity, soil and water, global ecological cycles, economic and social benefits, and society’s responsibility.
PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025 goes further by including a criterion for Indigenous relations and requiring consideration of climate change. In this Standard, criteria, elements, and indicators are used as a framework for identifying local values and setting direction, thus providing vital links between local-level sustainable forest management and national and provincial forest policy.
Adaptive management and continual improvement are foundational concepts for sustainable forest management. Due to the nature of forest management and the many uncertainties, particularly with climate change, the emphasis is on continual improvement to appropriately adapt over time.
PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025 gives organizations a system for adaptive management and continual improvement and involves potentially affected parties in focused Indigenous and public participation processes. This way, sustainable forest management under the standard will evolve, incorporating new, emerging knowledge and society’s changing environmental, social, cultural, and economic values. The focus of the standard is not to provide a fixed desired endpoint for objectives but rather a systematic structure to progress towards objectives through continual improvement.
This structured framework helps forestry organizations avoid or reduce their impact on the environment and improve sustainability. It starts with creating high-level policies or objectives—a clear commitment to protect values. This systematic approach involves careful planning to identify actions that support the policy and align with legislation. These plans are put into action through daily operations (implementation). The system requires continuous performance monitoring and regular reviews to ensure the results are aligned with policy and objectives and to identify areas for improvement. This cycle of committing, planning, doing, checking, and reviewing helps forest managers maintain responsible and sustainable practices over time.
Certification to PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025 requires ongoing independent third-party audits. These audits are 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 by an annual surveillance audit, with recertification audits occurring every three years.
PEFC Canada’s Board of Directors approved the PEFC Canada – Forest Management standard PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025 on April 18, 2025.
This commences the 18-month transition period for current certificate holders, who must be fully certified to the new version by October 18, 2026.
Download Standard (english)Download standard (french)
Current certificates to the withdrawn CSA Z809:16 (R2021) standard remain valid during the transition to the revised standard.
PEFC Canada’s ownership of the technical content of the withdrawn CSA Z809:16 (R2021) standard does not impact current certificates or users of withdrawn CSA Z809:16 (R2021).
PEFC Canada and the Standards Council of Canada are working cooperatively to ensure a smooth transition for all parties, with support from PEFC International. During the transition period, we can clarify the following points as they relate to certification under the withdrawn CSA Z809:16 (R2021) standard:
In other words, it is business as usual for current certificate holders of the withdrawn CSA Z809:16 (R2021).
Certificate holders must complete their transition to the revised PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025 Standard prior to October 18, 2026.
Regular reviews and revisions are a key part of the continual improvement process to ensure the standard is kept current with the evolution of Canadian values and needs. The revision process includes a comprehensive approach to engagement involving:
These processes ensure that the development and revision of the standards and related guidelines reflect a wide range of perspectives.
The next revision process will begin no later than September 12, 2028. However, we welcome ongoing input on sustainable forest management, PEFC Canada’s standard-setting, and matters related to certificate holders at any time.
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Revising the PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025 standard involved a comprehensive public review process, ensuring robust public involvement and transparency. All feedback was carefully reviewed by the PEFC Canada Technical Committee, leading to meaningful updates and a publicly available summary of comments and actions taken.
The PEFC Canada Standard Setting Procedures describe the details of the process moving forward (French version).
The key principles of governing the standard-setting and revision process:
PEFC International ensures all National Standards undergo a rigorous endorsement process to meet global sustainability benchmark requirement, including PEFC CAN ST 1001:2025.
To ensure the integrity of its system, PEFC has developed procedures to welcome, investigate, and resolve complaints and appeals. In addition to correcting any such issues on the ground, complaints and appeals also provide an opportunity to implement corrective and preventive measures and help improve our services.
PEFC is interested in resolving conflicts through dialogue with the parties concerned before formal proceedings are initiated. When this is not possible, information on suspected activities should be addressed to the respective complaints and appeals mechanism.
PEFC Canada will follow the complaints and appeals procedures for any concerns noted on the standard, the standard setting or revisions procedures, complaints against certified entities or accredited certification bodies or concerns about sustainable forest management (French version complaints and appeals procedure).