Public PEFC consultation on CSA Canadian national forest certification scheme

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) certification scheme for products from forests meeting CSA's standard for sustainable forest management has been submitted to the PEFC Council for assessment and has entered the official public internet consultation period.

The scheme will be examined by the independent consultant firm FORM International to assess whether it conforms to the strict requirements of PEFC, the global framework for the endorsement of forest certification schemes. Part of the assessment involves a public consultation where anyone can review the scheme and send comments to the appointed consultant.

Mr Henri Plauche-Gillon, Chairman of the PEFC Council welcomed the Canadian application pointing out that "together with the Australian and Chilean schemes CSA is now the third major forest certification system outside Europe applying for PEFC endorsement. This clearly underlines the role of PEFC as the world's leading forest certification initiative."

"The CSA scheme is based on CAN/CSA Z809 - Sustainable Forest Management: Requirements & Guidance and PLUS 1163 - Chain of Custody for Forest Products Originating from a Defined Forest Area Registered to CSA Standard CAN/CSA Z809. The CAN/CSA Z809 standard was first developed in 1996 by consensus in a multi stakeholder process of interested parties. Since then it has been continually developed further and adapted to new and current research" said Mr Peter Johnson from CSA International. The revised version was approved by the Standards Council of Canada in July 2003 as Canada's National Standard for Sustainable Forest Management. Applicable to any forest type in Canada regardless of size or tenure it has become the scheme of choice by the vast majority of all major and medium sized forest companies in Canada. Currently 32.9 million hectares are certified to the CSA standard and it is expected to reach more than 70 million by the end of 2006.

Mr Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council said: "I invite all interested parties to review the CSA scheme on our website at www.pefc.org and send any comments directly to FORM International by 31 October 2004."

The scheme can be reviewed here

For more information contact:
Mr. Peter Johnson/Ms. Teresa Borgiel, Canadian Scheme - Tel. + 01 905 275 0285
Mr. Ben Gunneberg, PEFC Council - Tel. + 352 26 25 90 59

Consultants Details:
FORM International
P.H.V. Hol
Ridderstraat 2
8051 EH Hattem
The NETHERLANDS
Tel + 31 38 444 89 90
Fax + 31 38 444 89 91
E-mail: info@forminternational.nl

Editor Notes

Forest Certification
Forest certification is a process which provides an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood and paper products that the wood used in the products comes from sustainably managed forest. Sustainably managed forest are those whose management implements performance standards based on internationally agreed environmental, social and economical requirements.

Canadian Standards Assocication CSA
CSA was established in 1919 and has a long history rooted in the development of consensus-based standards. Consumer products certified through CSA International have been available on the market for over 50 years. CSA's Mark appears on billions of consumer products, from hockey and bicycle helmets to electrical appliances. All of which have helped CSA work towards it's mission of Making Standards Work for People and Business. It is for these reasons that CSA has worked with a diverse range of stakeholders interested in sustainable forest management in Canada to develop CSA's Sustainable Forest Management Program.

PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes)
PEFC is a framework for the mutual recognition of credible national or regional forest certification schemes that have been developed based on internationally recognised requirements for sustainable forest management. Since its launch in 1999, PEFC has become the largest forest certification umbrella organisation covering national schemes from all over the world, delivering hundreds of millions of tonnes of wood to the processing industry and then onto the market place from over 52 million hectares of certified forests. PEFC has strong grass roots support from many stakeholders including the forestry sector, governments, trade associations, trade unions and non-governmental organisations.