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| The national forest certification systems of the Czech Republic and France have been re-endorsed for a second 5 year period by the PEFC Council. Regular reviews and re-assessments of national certification systems are an integral part of PEFC?s benchmark and continuous improvement process. This process ensures that latest scientific knowledge is incorporated and the same high level of PEFC standards is adhered to in all countries.
"With the periodic reviews and re-endorsements, PEFC has taken a leadership role in the continuous improvement of forest certification standards globally", said Mr Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council. "Seven of PEFC's endorsed certification systems have successfully gained PEFC endorsement for a second time, demonstrating that their certified forests of more than 55 million hectares are being managed to the highest international standards. It should therefore be no surprise that more than 2200 timber and paper companies in these countries have opted for a PEFC Chain of Custody certification for their businesses."
"At the end of last year, a comparative study including three of the PEFC re-endorsed systems, in Finland, Norway and Sweden, revealed that PEFC certification had improved the standard of forest management", said Mr Gunneberg. "The study underlines PEFC's achievement in implementing equally high standards, as it found that forest certification had levelled out differences between the three countries, independent of the requirements imposed by national legislation."
The full assessment reports on the certification systems of the Czech Republic and France, undertaken by independent external auditors, and upon which the PEFC Council based its decision to re-endorse the two systems, are publicly available at the PEFC Council website www.pefc.org.
For more information please contact:
Mr Oliver Scholz, Communications Manager PEFC Council
Tel. +352 26 25 90 59
Mr St?phane Marchesi, Secretary General PEFC France
Tel. +33 1 43 46 57 15
Mrs Suzana Brenesselov?, Secretary General PEFC Czech Republic
Tel. +420 220 517 137
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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 onto the market place from over 191 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.
Savcor Indufor Oy study "Effectiveness and Efficiency of FSC and PEFC forest certification on pilot areas in Nordic countries"
The Savcor Indufor Oy study, undertaken on behalf of the Federation of Nordic Forest Owner's Organisations on the 'Effectiveness and Efficiency of FSC and PEFC forest certification on pilot areas in Nordic countries' confirmed PEFC's equally high implementation of standards in different countries. "Certification has improved the standards of forest management in all three countries and has evened out some of the differences between the countries" said Mrs Hanna Nikinmaa of Savcor Indufor during the presentation of the results. The report found that forest owners had chosen PEFC, as it offers group certification, which is more cost-effective and permits the certification to be part of existing control and monitoring systems.
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