Fully revised Austrian system undergoes public consultation

The national forest certification system for Austria has been fully revised and an independent consultant is currently assessing whether the system conforms with all PEFC benchmark requirements. Part of the assessment is an international public consultation period for two months during which the consultants considers comments from all interested individuals and organisations globally.

"A year ago the Austrian system was submitted to the PEFC Council for re-endorsement and in the following months was rigorously analyzed by the consultants. A number of necessary improvements of the national system were identified through this process. The Austrian certification system therefore underwent a further revision in a national development process through workshops and national consultations before being re-submitted to the PEFC Council", said Mr Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council. He added: "The PEFC Council public consultation period at international level now is the final step in the series of public consultations that all national PEFC standards have to undergo before they can be considered for endorsement. I invite everyone to review the revised PEFC Austria system, which is available on our website and send comments directly to the assessing consultancy SAVCOR INDUFOR OY by 28 August 2006."

For more information please contact:
Consultants
SAVCOR INDUFOR OY
Ms Hanna Nikinmaa
T??l?nkatu 11 A
FIN-00100 Helsinki
Finland
Tel +358 684 0110
Fax. +358 9 135 2552
Email: indufor@savcor.com
http://www.savcor.com

Applicant
PEFC Austria
Mr Dietmar Hagauer
Alser Strasse 21/1/5
A-1080 Vienna
Austria
Tel +43 1 402 4701 17
Fax +43 1 40 113 50
Email: info@pefc.at
http://www.pefc.at

PEFC Council
Mr Oliver Scholz
17, rue des Girondins
L-1626 Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Tel +352 26 25 90 59
Fax +352 26 25 92 58
Email: pefc@pt.lu
http://www.pefc.org

Editor Notes

Austrian Forest Certification system
The Austrian PEFC standard has been very successful during its first 5 years of PEFC endorsement. More than 3 million hectares of Austrian forests, which are mainly managed by small- and medium-scale family owned enterprises, have been certified to the PEFC system. Close to 300 Austrian timber and paper trading and processing enterprises have opted for a PEFC Chain of Custody for their businesses, demonstrating their commitment to the responsible sourcing of raw materials. PEFC Austria is strongly supported by a wide range of stakeholders, among them the Austrian ENGO community, who actively participate in the PEFC system through their national umbrella organisation, the Umweltdachverband.