Comments welcome : Danish certification system up for public consultation

The Danish system has been thoroughly revised over a one-year period in the light of latest scientific research and practical experience from the field. It has now been presented to the PEFC Council for international recognition and is undergoing a public consultation until 20 October 2007.

"Before PEFC decides on whether or not to re-endorse the Danish system, the public's opinion on the system is sought. Comments on the system should be sent directly to the external assessor, who verifies whether it complies with all the international requirements", said Mr Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council.

As PEFC is committed to continuous improvement, all PEFC endorsed forest certification systems must undergo a full revision and assessment process every five years before they can be re-endorsed. This regular stringent benchmark testing guarantees the equally high and consistent quality level of all PEFC endorsed systems.

For more information contact:
Assessor
SAVCOR INDUFOR OY
Ms Hanna Nikinmaa
Töölönkatu 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 Denmark
Ms Tanja Olsen
Amalievej 20
DK-1875 Frederiksberg C
Denmark
Tel. +45 33 24 42 66
Fax +45 33 24 02 4
Email: info@pefc.dk
http://www.pefc.dk

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:comms@pefc.org
http://www.pefc.org

Editor Notes

PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes)
PEFC is a framework for the assessment and endorsement of national forest certification systems 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 systems from all over the world, delivering hundreds of millions of tonnes of wood to the processing industry and then onto the market place from currently more than 200 million hectares of certified forests. This is an area which is larger than the combined forest area of all European Union member states. PEFC has strong grass roots support from many stakeholders including the forestry sector, governments, trade associations, trade unions and non-governmental organisations.

Forest Certification
Forest certification is a process which provides an assurance to purchasers of wood and paper products that the wood used in the products comes from sustainably managed forest. It involves the certification of forests (Sustainable Forest Management certification) and the certification of the wood flow via processing, manufacturing and trading enterprises (Chain of Custody certification) to the final consumer.