UK Government rates all PEFC certified timber as ?legal and sustainable?

Today, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced that it has officially rated PEFC certified timber products as both legal and sustainable. Timber from PEFC endorsed national forest certification schemes is now eligible for all contracts under the UK Public Timber Procurement Policy and will receive preferred status in UK public tendering processes.

Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council, commented: "We're delighted that PEFC has met the Government's procurement standard for sustainable timber. This decision demonstrates the Government's commitment to sustainable development and responsible timber sourcing."

John White, Chief Executive of the Timber Trade Federation, added: "Traders in the UK import almost ?2 billion of timber products a year, a significant proportion of which is PEFC certified. There are over 123 million hectares of certified forest under the PEFC umbrella scheme which means that this decision will both increase the supply of certified timber to the UK market and, most importantly, extend choice."

The Government's decision was based on an assessment by the Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET), which judged the PEFC programme to meet appropriate requirements for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) certification systems. The inclusion of PEFC follows an extended transition period that DEFRA had given certification schemes in order to adopt new requirements for SFM certification systems.

The PEFC Council also welcomed the Government's announcement to monitor certification systems on their continued implementation of requirements. Ben Gunneberg said: "This is more good news. All PEFC endorsed systems are regularly reviewed and assessed by independent external consultants to ensure high global standards and requirements at national level. In addition, we make all reports publicly available on the PEFC Council website (www.pefc.org) to ensure necessary openness and transparency."

For more information contact:
Mr Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General PEFC Council - Tel. + 352 26 25 90 59
or visit www.defra.gov.uk

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 forests. Sustainably managed forests are those whose management implements performance standards based on internationally agreed environmental, social and economical requirements.

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 on to the market place from over 123 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.

UK Government Timber Procurement Policy
In autumn 2004 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) commissioned an assessment of five forest certification systems against its new criteria for forest certification schemes to be eligible under the UK Government Timber Procurement Policy. The results of this initial assessment, which were announced in November 2004, demonstrated that PEFC met all Government thresholds for legality and for sustainable forest management standards.

On three procedural elements, namely the decision-making at national level, having a public consultation for each individual forest certification and making a summary of certification audit reports publicly available, PEFC did not obtain the necessary score. With the announcement of the initial results, DEFRA Minister Elliot Morley set a six months transition period for certification systems to adapt to the new requirements and a six months deadline before Government departments would begin to differentiate between schemes.

In the months following the announcement, the PEFC Council worked closely with DEFRA, its advisors and the UK Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET), to identify and implement the necessary changes. The PEFC Council member countries, in an extraordinary General Assembly vote, approved the new requirements, which were submitted to DEFRA in April 2004 for reassessment, one month prior to the end of the deadline (see PEFC Council Press Release at www.pefc.org > News > 2005/04/12 PEFC demonstrates customer commitment).

In June 2005 Minister Morley praised PEFC for the speed with which the changes had been made. He announced that the results of the reassessment would be published at the earliest opportunity but that Government officials would meet with representatives of UK Environmental Non Governmental Organisations (ENGOs) to explain how the results were arrived at prior to the official announcement. In the meantime, Government buyers would continue to accept all forest certification schemes as assurance of legal and sustainable timber sources (see DEFRA Press Release at www.defra.gov.uk/news/2005/index.htm 10 June 2005 Forest Certification Schemes: Minister gives reassurance on publication of reassessment).