PEFC CERTIFICATION PROMOTES SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
PEFC forest certification has been a driving force for sustainable forest management for 25 years.
The Finnish version of the PEFC forest certification (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), which has been in existence for a quarter of a century, was updated just over a year ago. Over 60 organizations participated in the update
process.
“In the updated certificate, special attention is paid to the ecological sustainability of forest management operations,” says Tatu Liimatainen, National Secretary PEFC Finland – Finnish Forest Certification Association.
Present in 56 countries, PEFC standardization has a global basis, each considering the specific conditions of that country. A well-known global system provides companies the opportunity to use the PEFC logo in their products. Consumers worldwide can trust that PEFC-certified products come from responsibly managed forests and that the entire production chain is traceable. The ecological responsibility of the PEFC update is manifested, among other things, in the requirement to leave an average of twenty retention trees per hectare during harvesting. Ten of these must be dead and ten alive. This doubles the amount of retention trees compared to the previous standard.
“It is important to leave more dead wood in nature. It fosters soil health and serves as a habitat for various organisms,” says Liimatainen.
Another example is that the new standard defines protection zones for water systems and wetlands that are twice as wide as before, now ten meters. For example, a total twenty-meter buffer zone is now left around streams during harvesting.
“Wider buffer zones improve shading for waters and sediment runoff into water systems also decreases.”
The new certificate requires that a diverse stand of trees is maintained throughout all
stages of forestry. This improves soil quality, provides habitats for various organisms, and enhances the ability of the forest to resist diseases and pests better.
The use of the PEFC certificate is possible for products with an unbroken certification
chain. This means that the forest, the foresty, and various processing stages in industry must all be certified. In industry, compliance with certification requirements is checked in annual third-party audits.
PEFC
- Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.
- The world’s largest forest certification program, operating in 56 countries.
- In Finland, over 90 percent of commercial forests are PEFC certified.
- Updated PEFC forest standard came into effect at the beginning of 2023 with special attention on ecologically sustainable forest management.
