The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) schemes Council has officially launched a strategy to help it achieve its aim of creating confidence in the marketplace on the legality of timber.
Under the proposal, the PEFC Council will work to develop rules and standards that it describes as “more relevant to actual issues directly applicable to the needs of the supply chain”, as well as simplifying processes and guidance to make them easier to understand.
This will be carried out alongside plans to develop proactive sustainable forestry management partnerships, communicate the economic benefits of sustainable forestry management and carry out continuous improvements to PEFC guidelines.
“The new strategy marks a significant switch in strategic direction from production to market access orientation,” said PEFC Council secretary-general Ben Gunneberg.
“PEFC expects that over the next 10 years 45% of the world’s industrial roundwood capacity will be certified as coming from sustainably managed forests, which will provide an increasing feedstock to the market place meeting the rapidly growing demand for certified forest products.”
In order to allow it to move forward with the strategy, PEFC said that it will redefine its governance and operational strucutres to ease communications, make the organisation “more effective” and improve its relationships with NGOs and other bodies in the sector.
