Luxembourg and Slovak Republic gain PEFC endorsement

The PEFC Council today announced the international endorsement of the forest certification systems from Luxembourg and the Slovak Republic. Timber and wood-based products from PEFC certified forests in the two countries will now be accepted in the PEFC system and may bear the PEFC logo, as evidence of being sourced from sustainable and well-managed forests. So far 20 national certification systems on four continents around the world have successfully gained PEFC endorsement and PEFC expects a further increase in the coming months.

"Over half of all certified forests globally are now sustainably managed through PEFC endorsed certification systems, delivering hundreds of millions of tonnes of certified timber to trading and processing companies that are committed to the responsible sourcing of raw materials", said Mr Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council pointing to the huge availability of PEFC certified raw materials globally. "More than 20% of the world's industrial round wood harvest is already certified, the majority of it to PEFC endorsed systems."

To ensure full compliance with PEFC Council requirements, national systems seeking PEFC endorsement are thoroughly checked in a several months long process by independent and external consultants. The consultants' assessment reports form the central basis on which the PEFC Council member countries base their decision, whether or not to endorse national certification systems. In line with PEFC's openness and transparency, the full assessment reports are publicly available at the PEFC Council website. For the reports of the certification systems from Luxembourg and the Slovak Republic see www.pefc.org.

For more information please contact:
Mr Oliver Scholz, Communications Manager PEFC Council
Tel. + 352 26 25 90 59
Ms Michele Thinnes, PEFC Luxembourg
Tel. + 352 26 88 98 97
Mr Frantisek Stulajter, Slovak Forest Certification Association
Tel. +421 48 43 44 210

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.

Slovak Forest Certification Association
The Slovak Forest Certification Association (SFCA) was founded in 2002 to establish a national forest certification system that is compliant with the PEFC requirements. The SFCA was established as a three-chamber system with representatives of forest users, wood processors and stakeholders like, trade unions, universities and research institutes. Information on the system in Slovak is available at www.pefc.sk.

PEFC Luxembourg
PEFC Luxemburg was established in August 2002 to develop a national certification system for sustainable forest management. It is a joint initiative of federations of forest owners, industry, agriculture, hunters and sawmills in Luxembourg. Further information on PEFC Luxembourg in German is available at www.pefc.lu.

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 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.