What is PEFC?

What is PEFC?

PEFC (the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) supports sustainable forest management through independent, third-party forest certifications. PEFC also runs a chain-of-custody standard that covers the processing, transformation, and production steps that raw material goes through from the forest to the consumer. The scheme gives buyers of paper and forest products a mechanism for verifying that those products come from responsibly managed forests. A PEFC certificate demonstrates that the paper you use comes from cellulose sourced from sustainable forests and that, during production, the social and economic welfare of communities connected to forest resources has been respected.

You can get further information on PEFC from Sistem Patent Kalite. PEFC certification is a transparent system that combines forestry with traceability of wood and paper from the point of harvest through to the finished product. It has a broad influence on the forestry sector and wider society. In participating countries, PEFC sets practical requirements for forest operations that go beyond the minimum set by new forestry law, which often only frames basic requirements. One of the most important outcomes of PEFC certification is the protection of biological diversity within the forest. Many PEFC criteria are stricter than those of comparable systems. PEFC criteria also provide interpretation and detail in forests where strict legal requirements already apply and in areas subject to specific regulations. PEFC communicates changes in forest law and in the incentive areas that drive implementation. Although illegal logging is a relatively small issue for forests overall, PEFC plays an important role in raising employer accountability.

PEFC was founded in 1999 as an international umbrella organisation that recognises national forest-certification systems through independent evaluation and assessment, responding to the particular needs of small and family forest owners. It provides a mechanism for keeping national standards developing in line with the political, social, economic, environmental, and cultural realities of each country while ensuring alignment with internationally agreed requirements and global declarations. Today, PEFC is the largest forest-certification system in the world and the preferred scheme for small forest owners.