Social criteria added to PEFC certification

The inclusion of social criteria in PEFC’s chain of custody certification standard has been described as an “historic” moment for forest certification.

PEFC secretary-general Ben Gunneberg said chain of custody certification had so far been limited to only tracking certified material through the production process.

“As the certification system of choice of small forest owners, moving beyond the ‘forest gate’ to require companies along the supply chain to comply with issues of fundamental concerns to millions of workers globally seems to be a logical step,” Mr Gunneberg added.

“These social requirements provide an additional layer of confidence to consumers and buyers – that elementary rights of workers in companies along the supply chain have been respected,” added PEFC International chairman William Street.

The new criteria obliges PEFC-certified companies to demonstrate that production of the product does not involve forced labour, use of under-15s (or compulsory school attendance age), workers who are prevented from associating freely or bargaining collectively with their employer, or workers denied equal employment opportunities.