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A failure to communicate WITH A NUMBER OF TECHNICAL DIFFERENCES between the two major schemes, it is hard for lay observers to make informed decisions on their relative merits. As such, the debate can seem rather insular. Most paper companies have little option but to endorse both if they are to secure sufficient supply of Issue Date: June 2008
Back to basics THE TWO BEST KNOWN forest certification schemes are the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The former – and the larger of the two – took on its current form in 1999 with the coming together of 11 national bodies, and it now Issue Date: June 2008
Bodies of evidence Gaining certification to either PEFC or FSC is complex, expensive and time consuming. CoC certification requires extensive reporting of storage, transport and transactions of products and materials to create an audit trail that ensures beyond doubt the provenance of labelled goods. Both schemes publ Issue Date: June 2008
Certification by numbers BOTH PEFC AND FSC KEEP running totals of their vital statistics updated on their own websites. As The Print Business went to press, the most recent estimate of the total area of forest covered by PEFC-endorsed certifications was 205,295,085 hectares. There are no certified forests in the UK, however Issue Date: June 2008
Chain of Custody: a statement of intent DESPITE THE CHALLENGES associated with FSC and PEFC certification, and the confusion between the schemes, they remain the most economically viable and internationally recognised solutions for companies seeking independent verification of their sourcing policies. One of the most crucial areas of th Issue Date: June 2008
Europe gets a green light FOREST COVERAGE IS increasing in Europe at 0.5 % per year, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation also reports that European forest coverage has increased by 30% in the past 50 years, while 50% (Russia excluded) is certified by eithe Issue Date: June 2008
FSC: an open forum AS WELL AS BUYING certified products and undergoing conformity assessment, industry stakeholders can be recommended and apply for membership of FSC, and so gain a voice in the future development of the scheme. As mentioned above, the FSC General Assembly is divided into Economic, Social and Environm Issue Date: June 2008
PEFC confronts criticism AT A RECENT CONFERENCE hosted by The Print Business, PEFC director Ross Bradshaw addressed the differences between his own organisation and FSC (see last month’s issue), admitting: “There’s been too much disagreement between the two prime schemes.” He also discussed the question of logging standards Issue Date: June 2008
Supply and demand IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS in particular, there have been repeated suggestions from industry figures that the supply of certified fibres will struggle to meet projected demand in the near term. This is borne out, to some extent, by the experience of several paper companies. According to Jonathan Tame, Issue Date: June 2008
The NGOs are watching PEFC has been the target of sustained criticism from NGOs including WWF and Greenpeace, as well as academics in the field of sustainable management. Reasons for this are complex, but include the decision making set-up of the body and the lack of publicly available data regarding the improvements mad Issue Date: June 2008

A failure to communicate

WITH A NUMBER OF TECHNICAL DIFFERENCES between the two major schemes, it is hard for lay observers to make informed decisions on their relative merits. As such, the debate can seem rather insular. Most paper companies have little option but to endorse both if they are to secure sufficient supply of
Issue Date: June 2008

Back to basics

THE TWO BEST KNOWN forest certification schemes are the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The former – and the larger of the two – took on its current form in 1999 with the coming together of 11 national bodies, and it now
Issue Date: June 2008

Bodies of evidence

Gaining certification to either PEFC or FSC is complex, expensive and time consuming. CoC certification requires extensive reporting of storage, transport and transactions of products and materials to create an audit trail that ensures beyond doubt the provenance of labelled goods. Both schemes publ
Issue Date: June 2008

Certification by numbers

BOTH PEFC AND FSC KEEP running totals of their vital statistics updated on their own websites. As The Print Business went to press, the most recent estimate of the total area of forest covered by PEFC-endorsed certifications was 205,295,085 hectares. There are no certified forests in the UK, however
Issue Date: June 2008

Chain of Custody: a statement of intent

DESPITE THE CHALLENGES associated with FSC and PEFC certification, and the confusion between the schemes, they remain the most economically viable and internationally recognised solutions for companies seeking independent verification of their sourcing policies. One of the most crucial areas of th
Issue Date: June 2008

Europe gets a green light

FOREST COVERAGE IS increasing in Europe at 0.5 % per year, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation also reports that European forest coverage has increased by 30% in the past 50 years, while 50% (Russia excluded) is certified by eithe
Issue Date: June 2008

FSC: an open forum

AS WELL AS BUYING certified products and undergoing conformity assessment, industry stakeholders can be recommended and apply for membership of FSC, and so gain a voice in the future development of the scheme. As mentioned above, the FSC General Assembly is divided into Economic, Social and Environm
Issue Date: June 2008

PEFC confronts criticism

AT A RECENT CONFERENCE hosted by The Print Business, PEFC director Ross Bradshaw addressed the differences between his own organisation and FSC (see last month’s issue), admitting: “There’s been too much disagreement between the two prime schemes.” He also discussed the question of logging standards
Issue Date: June 2008

Supply and demand

IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS in particular, there have been repeated suggestions from industry figures that the supply of certified fibres will struggle to meet projected demand in the near term. This is borne out, to some extent, by the experience of several paper companies. According to Jonathan Tame,
Issue Date: June 2008

The NGOs are watching

PEFC has been the target of sustained criticism from NGOs including WWF and Greenpeace, as well as academics in the field of sustainable management. Reasons for this are complex, but include the decision making set-up of the body and the lack of publicly available data regarding the improvements mad
Issue Date: June 2008