Certifiably so

IN SPITE of the difficult economic conditions which prevail, demand for sustainably produced products is still on the rise.

Climate change concerns compete for attention with the economy on the news agenda. Consumers, public authorities and those making corporate procurement decisions are therefore increasingly seeking assurances of responsible raw materials sourcing and developing
corporate procurement policies to guide their suppliers.

It is now widely recognised that the world’s forests have a valuable role to play in helping to tackle climate change. Forests store the equivalent of 4,500 Gtonnes of carbon – almost twice as much as in the world’s known remaining oil stocks and more carbon than in the atmosphere itself. At the same time, forests can also make a very significant contribution to mitigation measures such as product substitution e.g. wooden window frames instead of aluminum, storage in harvested wood products e.g. furniture and bio-energy. So it is vital that forest cover is both maintained and expanded and at the same time we optimise the contribution of timber-based products. Sustainable forest management has a key role to play in providing incentives for afforestation to help tackle climate change.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary later this year, The Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) is the largest global sustainable forest management certification scheme. With over 220 million hectares currently under certification, PEFC is the world’s greatest resource of certified wood from responsibly managed forests. Third party auditing to
internationally recognised and globally respected certification processes, ensures that the PEFC certification scheme provides transparent system of forest inspection. Chain of custody certification provides a means of tracking timber from certified forest to the end product.

Government timber procurement policies are gradually beginning to impact on demand for responsibly-sourced timber with CPET (Central Point of Expertise on Timber), the Code for Sustainable Homes and 2012 Olympics projects all helping to drive demand for certified timber.

CPET recognises PEFC as providing assurances that timber certified under its scheme originates from legal and sustainable sources.

The Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes awards additional points based on the percentage of certified timber and timber products both for building and finishing elements.

PEFC’s independent third party certification helps those supplying timber for government contracts to demonstrate responsible sourcing.

The incentives that these initiatives have created in the UK market to increase the use of certified timber are to be applauded. As a result, demand for chain of custody certification has grown dramatically with the number of PEFC chain of custody certificates issued in the UK now
topping 1200. It is vital that major timber importing countries such as the UK and influential procurers, such as central government, use their huge purchasing power to drive demand for certified timber.

With less than 10 per cent of the world’s forests currently certified (only 26 per cent of industrial roundwood) the challenge for everyone involved in promoting responsibly-sourced timber must be to work together to increase the take up of forest certification as voluntary tool.

The other major challenge that forestry certification programmes face in the UK is ensuring greater take up of chain of custody certification throughout the supply chain. Chain of custody certification is vital as it provides those buying a product bearing the PEFC logo that it has been tracked from a certified forest. End users such as major contractors and housing developers are now able to gain either full or partial certification for individual projects using PEFC’s project certification offer.

Recognising that around 60 per cent of imported timber is used in the construction sector, PEFC will continue to raise awareness of the need for these influential procurers to specify certified timber for their developments.

For more information on the PEFC programme, visit www.pefc.org or e-mail: info@pefc.co.uk