PEFC receives highest ranking against ASEAN Guidelines

13 November 2020 News

PEFC has achieved the highest ranking in the assessment against the ASEAN RAI Guidelines, thanks to our regional approach. In a recently published report assessing the alignment with ASEAN RAI, the PEFC Sustainable Forest Management principles scored 9.5 out of 10 points.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Guidelines for Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (ASEAN RAI) offer guidance on food, agriculture and forestry investments to agribusinesses, governments, financial institutions and producers.

The report Mapping of Industry & Investment Standards and Principles to the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry, published by Grow Asia, assesses the alignment between twelve regionally relevant food, agriculture and forestry (FAF) standards with the ASEAN Guidelines.

The report shows that agribusinesses or financial investors who are certified or signatories to many of the reviewed standards are also aligned with the ASEAN Guidelines. Certification against those standards therefore helps to demonstrate compliance with ASEAN RAI. The report also outlines how certifications or alignment to standards may help agribusinesses become more competitive and attractive to financiers.

Top marks for PEFC

The report assessed the PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard, comprising six main criteria.

“The first five PEFC principles align with the ASEAN RAI Guidelines on food nutrition, economic development, natural resources, climate change and rule of law and governance,” the report highlights.

“The sixth PEFC principle (maintenance or appropriate enhancement of socio-economic functions and conditions) emphasizes economic development, support to marginalized populations (women, young people, indigenous people) as well as tenure rights and data collection.”

With two out of six PEFC Sustainable Forest Management principles including specific references to regional policy and approaches, PEFC achieved a partial match with Guideline 10. 

On the whole, PEFC Sustainable Forest Management principles align with 9.5 out of 10 of the ASEAN RAI Guidelines.

Other standards assessed in the report include Fairtrade International, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Rainforest Alliance.

The ASEAN Guidelines

The primary purpose of the ASEAN Guidelines is to promote investment in food and agriculture, including fisheries and forestry, in the ASEAN region that contributes to regional economic development, food and nutrition security, food safety and equitable benefits, as well as the sustainable use of natural resources.

The Guidelines distil the global best practices for ensuring that larger scale agribusiness investments are socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable and inclusive. It provides future partners of such investments a roadmap for future investments.The Guidelines aim to become the de facto foundation of these type of agricultural investments across Southeast Asia.