What PEFC stands for and what PEFC wants to achieve

PEFC's aim is to assure that the world's forests are managed sustainably and that their functions are protected for present and future generations.

PEFC certified timber and paper products are an independently verified assurance to consumers and companies that they are buying wood products from sustainably managed forests. By choosing PEFC, buyers can help combat illegal logging.

PEFC's role, as an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, is to secure that the same high standards are applied by all its endorsed certification systems globally and thus by forest managers, paper and timber companies and their external certifiers.

See leaflet for consumers It's good to buy certified wood

See leaflet for companies PEFC - the responsible choice

Why PEFC was established

Forest certification grew out of concerns for the preservation of tropical forests and as a proactive alternative to timber boycotts.

It developed as a result of the UN 'Earth Summit' in Rio in 1992, where the concept of 'sustainable development' was established as a common goal of human development.

Difficulties of the first developed certification systems to address the needs of family forest owners in Europe, led to the establishment of PEFC as a system to encompass all types of forests, from small family owned businesses to large multinational corporations.

At their inaugural meeting in Paris in 1999, the 11 founding countries of the PEFC Council agreed to base PEFC certification on the criteria for sustainable forest management, which have come out of the Rio 'Earth Summit' and its follow-up intergovernmental processes.

PEFC?s aim is the mutual recognition of forest certification systems

The primary objective of the PEFC Council is to achieve compatibility between credible and independent forest certification systems and to implement and safeguard consistently high standards for sustainable forest management around the globe.

To date PEFC Council has successfully achieved a mutual recognition (endorsement) of more than 20 certification systems globally, among them major systems like the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the US-Canadian Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).

PEFC is an international certification system and not limited to European forests only

Most PEFC certified forests are outside Europe. Over two thirds of PEFC's endorsed forests are on other continents, e.g. North and South America and Australia.

PEFC initially started in Europe, but soon extended its geographical coverage and consequently adopted its current name 'Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes' in November 2003.

PEFC is the world's largest forest certification system and resource of certified wood.