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| The UK Certification Scheme for Sustainable Forest Management received international endorsement today by the PEFC Council, the internationally recognized umbrella for national forest certification schemes, following an 8-month rigorous assessment process.
The scheme, which uses the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) as its base document, provides foresters and woodland owners with the opportunity of using independent certifiers, accredited by the UK Accreditation Service, to certify the sustainable management of UK forests." said Len Yull, Chairman of PEFC UK. He added, "This is a great day for the UK forestry industry. The UK Scheme joins ten other independent national forest certification schemes already endorsed, covering more than 42 million hectares, a forest area equivalent to the combined land area of the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark"
Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council, said he was delighted at the unanimous vote by members, to endorse the independent UK scheme as meeting the strict requirements of the PEFC Council. He added "Timber coming from forests certified to UKWAS through the scheme with its associated Chain of Custody certificates will from now on have access to the PEFC logo. This provides assurance to purchasing customers and specifiers, that they are contributing to the promotion of sustainable forest management ".
For more information contact:
Len Yull - PEFC UK Ltd Chairman, Tel: +44 1738 850706 or +44 788 785 4112
Ben Gunneberg - PEFC Council Secretary General, Tel: +352 26 25 90 59
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