PEFC – Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification

PEFC is an umbrella organisation, we endorse national forest certification systems that have been developed through multi-stakeholder processes and tailored to local priorities and conditions. But we also do so much more…

Website

Summary

Region / Country

  • Global

Environmental standards

Yes

Social and ethical responsibility standards

Yes

Is there a label to put on the product?

Yes

Who can hold accreditation?

  • Distributor
  • Finisher
  • Publisher
  • Printer
  • Mill

Who / what has accreditation

  • Product

Independent verification / audit

Yes

Accreditation information

Key stats

Relevant to book industry?

  • Publishers
  • Distributors/ sellers
  • Printers

Where in supply chain?

  • Paper

Key stakeholders?

  • Publisher
  • Mill
  • Printer
  • Finisher
  • Distributors

What type of entity is the badge certifying?

  • Pulp products

Organisation/management procedures & outcomes?

A leading global alliance of national forest certification systems, dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management through independent third-party certification

Environmental Attributes

Identifying the key elements

  1. What are the applicable environmental attributes?

Sustainability

  1. Does the badge intend to assess social aspects & how are they related to environmental attributes?

Yes

  1. Which Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the accreditation aligned to? How would receiving the certification help an organisation to achieve these goals?

Not defined at this time.

  1. Is it recognised on an international, European or country level?

International

  1. Does the badge have mutual recognition with other labels?

No

  1. What are the benefits and practicalities to the organisation receiving the accreditation? 

Not defined at this time.

  1. a) Cost 

Varies by country

  1. b) Time to achieve certification 

0.5-2 days

  1. c) Do the certified bodies have to publish your progress every year ?

Certification lasts for 5 years, but includes annual checks

  1. d) Response times for audit outcomes, reports and recommendations 

Depends on grading

  1. Is the accreditation tiered?

No

Assessment criteria

Governance Quality

  1. What is the overarching objective of the accreditation body? 

Sustainability of forests

  1. a) How is the badge verified? 

Companies pay auditors not PEFC

  1. a) i. Independent body 

Yes

  1. a) ii. Governing body 

Not defined at this time.

  1. a) iii. Self-regulating 

Not defined at this time.

  1. b) What are the criteria used to be recognized as the above? Considering human resource, technical expertise and financial input 

Various including sustainability & legality

  1. a) How often are the certified products/organisations/projects re-evaluated? 

Annually

  1. b) How often are the assessment and certification practices re-evaluated? 

Monitored as required

  1. c) What input do stakeholders have to the governance structure and certification processes? 

None

  1. d) How responsive is the certification body to this feedback? 

Not defined at this time.

  1. To what extent are the answers questions 2 and 3 made transparent to consumers, the certified organisations and any other stakeholders? 

Website is pretty clear. Covers 300m hectares with recognition in over 30 countries.

Governance effectiveness

  1. What environmental performance metrics are used – consumption data, emissions, life cycle analysis etc.? 

Sustainability, conservation

  1. a) How complete and accurate are these assessments? 

Not defined at this time.

  1. b) How are these benchmarked? 

Not defined at this time.

  1. c) What is the scoring system used? 

Not defined at this time.

  1. In what form are the outputs of certification delivered? 

Registered certification

  1. Are clear, actionable recommendations delivered and implemented? 

Yes

  1. To what extent do end-users understand what the badge is certifying? How visible is this on an end-product e.g., through a label? 

PEFC label

Social Responsibility Attributes

Key elements

  1. What are the key social performance areas the accreditations assesses? For instance, community involvement and human rights

Recognition of free, prior and informed consent of indigenous people, Promotion of gender equality and commitment to equal treatment of workers, Promotion of the health and well-being of forest communities, Respect for human rights in forest operations, Provisions for consultation with local people, communities and other stakeholders, Compliance with all fundamental ILO conventions for worker rights, Working from minimum wage towards living wage levels, Prohibition of genetically modified trees and most hazardous chemicals.

  1. Do the above social performance areas interlink with achieving any positive environmental impacts?

n/a

  1. Does the accreditation have different requirements for SMEs compared with larger organisations?

No

Governance Effectiveness

  1. What indicators are used to assess the social impact areas?

Assessment

  1. Are the above indicators a complete and accurate reflection of these social impacts?

Third-party assessor

  1. How does the certification weight these indicators according to their effect on social value?

Not defined at this time.