PEFC successfully implements continuous improvement - Finnish certification system revised and endorsed

The revised Finnish Forest Certification System FFCS has been endorsed by the PEFC Council, the international platform for the mutual recognition of forest certification schemes. This recognition is the first ever renewed PEFC endorsement of a forest certification system globally. It followed a comprehensive multi-stakeholder revision process, in which newest scientific research and practical experience from the field were incorporated in the revised standard.

"To ensure continuous improvement, including the latest scientific knowledge, and involvement of all stakeholders in the setting of Sustainable Forest Management standards, it is imperative that standards are revised every five years", said Mr Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC Council. "By demanding periodic reviews of national certification systems, the PEFC Council is underlining its leadership role in international forest certification and its commitment to the principle of continuous improvement."

"We are delighted to be the first national system to successfully go through a complete revision process and gain PEFC endorsement for a second time", said Mr Auvo Kaivola, Secretary General of FFCS, "The large number of participants in the Finnish certification system highlight its successful contribution to the sustainable management of Finland's forests."

The PEFC endorsement of revised certification systems follows the same stringent procedures that are mandatory for systems to gain first time endorsement. The FFCS therefore was assessed by an independent consultant and its complete documentation was made available at the PEFC Council website for public comments. After an eleven months long process, the PEFC members now accepted the recommendation of both the independent consultant and the PEFC Board of Directors by endorsing the revised scheme. In line with PEFC's rules for openness and transparency the full consultant's report is made publicly available on the PEFC website at www.pefc.org.

For more information please contact:
Mr Oliver Scholz, Communications Manager PEFC Council
Tel. + 352 26 25 90 59
Mr Auvo Kaivola, Secretary General FFCS
Tel. + 358 929 041 426

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.

Finnish Forest Certification System (FFCS)
The beginning of Finland's national forest certification system FFCS dates back to 1996. After an intense development process the FFCS certification system was among the first systems to gain PEFC endorsement in May 2000. A wide range of groups interested in forests and sustainable forest management are actively involved in the FFCS scheme, among them representatives from the Reindeer Herder's Association, the Sami Parliament, foresters, forest owners, farmers, the Church of Finland and timber processing industries. Today more than 22 million hectares of Finnish forest are certified to FFCS equivalent to 95 % of all forests in the country. The certified forests are owned by a total of 311,500 forest owners. Further information on FFCS are available at the FFCS website http://www.ffcs-finland.org/eng/index.htm.

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 58 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.