UK Government confirms PEFC as source of legal and sustainable timber

The UK Government today confirmed that PEFC sustainable forest management certification provided an assurance that its certified timber-based products originated from legal and sustainable sources. The government has signalled its preference for certified timber products in its own timber procurement policy and recommends consumers make the same responsible choice. The announcement follows a detailed assessment of forest certification systems by the Government?s Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET).

Michael Clark, Chairman of the PEFC Council commented: "We are delighted that the Government's recommendation on PEFC has been so clear. It gives UK companies a strong incentive to commit to responsible sourcing of wood products by undergoing PEFC Chain of Custody certification."

Neil Donaldson, President of the UK Timber Trade Federation said: "The announcement is of utmost importance to traders in the UK, who import nearly ?3 billion of timber products each year. The Government's recommendation on sustainable sourcing of timber-based products will enable our member companies to offer more responsibly and sustainably sourced products to their customers."

Since PEFC's initial rating as legal and sustainable by the UK Government in August 2005, the PEFC certified forest area has increased by another 70 million hectares globally and currently is heading towards the 200 million hectares mark. The number of Chain of Custody certificates in the UK has more than tripled during this time and to date, more than 300 paper and timber companies in the UK have chosen PEFC certification for their businesses.

For the DEFRA press release see www.defra.gov.uk.

For more information please contact:
Mr Oliver Scholz, Communications Manager PEFC Council
Tel. + 352 26 25 90 59
or in the UK
Hilary Khawam, PEFC UK Ltd
Tel: 01689 819902 or Mobile 0781 844 2306

Editor Notes

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 193 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.

Sustainable Forest Management
Sustainable Forest Management is defined as "the stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way and at a rate that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions at local, national and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other eco-systems". Sustainably managed forests are those whose management implements performance standards based on internationally agreed environmental, social and economic requirements.

CPET (Central Point of Expertise on Timber)
In 2004, the UK Government established the Central Point of Expertise on Timber to assess certification schemes and provide guidelines for central government departments on legal and sustainable timber procurement (see www.proforest.net/cpet).

Chain of Custody Certification
Chain of custody certification is a mechanism for tracing certified material from the forest to the final product to provide certainty that the product or product line, about which a claim is being made, is linked to a certified forest.