Chain of Custody Certifications
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification is a demonstration of our commitment to help create a marketplace that promotes well-managed forests by ensuring forestry practices that are environmentally responsible, socially equitable, and economically viable. Click the logo for more information on the FSC.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program is a comprehensive system of principles, objectives and performance measures developed by professional foresters, conservationists and scientists, among others that combines the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the long-term protection of wildlife, plants, soil and water quality. The SFI Standard spells out the requirements of compliance with the program. The SFIS is based on nine principles that address economic, environmental, cultural and legal issues, in addition to a commitment to continuously improve sustainable forest management.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program is based on the premise that responsible environmental behavior and sound business decisions can co-exist to the benefit of landowners, manufacturers, shareholders, customers, the people they serve, the environment, and future generations. The SFI program integrates the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil, water, and air quality.
The Council Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) (SGS-PEFC/COC-0307) schemes is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, founded in 1999 which promotes sustainably managed forests through independent third party certification. The PEFC provides an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood and paper products that they are promoting the sustainable management of forests.
PEFC is a global umbrella organization for the assessment of and mutual recognition of national forest certification schemes developed in a multi-stakeholder process. These national schemes build upon the inter-governmental processes for the promotion of sustainable forest management, a series of on-going mechanisms supported by 149 governments in the world covering 85% of the world's forest area.
PEFC has in its membership 35 independent national forest certification systems of which 25 to date have been through a rigorous assessment process involving public consultation and the use of independent assessors to provide the assessments on which mutual recognition decisions are taken by the membership. These 25 systems account for more than 200 million hectares of certified forests producing millions of tonnes of certified timber to the market place making PEFC the world's largest certification system. The other national members schemes are at various stages of development and are working towards mutual recognition under the PEFC processes.
