Certification “not a universal panacea”

“The challenge for the hardwood sector is to find a way of communicating the renewability and sustainability of hardwood without relying on certification.” So said Rupert Oliver of Forest Industries Intelligence, addressing September 9’s London Hardwood Club lunch alongside David Venables, European director of The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC).

This challenge is particularly evident in the case of US hardwoods where the preponderance of small-scale forest ownership means that Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) certification is not always possible.

This is, said Mr Venables, despite the fact that there are “huge swathes of sustainable hardwood in the US”, as demonstrated by the risk assessment study consultants Seneca Creek carried out on behalf of AHEC last year (ttjonline 28 October, 2008; November 8, 2008).

The Seneca Creek study is important not just in relation to US hardwoods, added Mr Oliver, but because it demonstrates that any supplier country with good forest governance can do the same and prove it has a viable alternative to mainstream certification.

The EU’s recent swing towards a risk assessment-based policy and its proposals for due diligence systems (ttjonline July 11) were welcomed by both speakers as a “more pragmatic approach”, which would not favour large, vertically integrated supplier companies over smaller-scale operations.

“There’s a severe threat that unless the idea of certification as a universal panacea is challenged, there’ll be very big problems and, long term, it’s not a way to improve standards across the industry,” said Mr Oliver.