Timber Design & Technology looks at the some of the leading certification programs that have gained widespread acceptance over the years.
The origins of timber certification can be traced back to the late 1980s when the perceived need for sustainable forest management was first felt. In fact, 1990 saw the start of timber certification, when a group of stakeholders in California identified the need for a credible system for identifying acceptable sources of forest products.
Today, the interest in sustainable forest management stems from broad-felt concern over depletion of the forest resource combined with a growing need for global resource management. However, sustainable forest management is a practice that has been in use for several centuries. The term has been redefined many times, and accordingly so has the emphasis on what should be managed in a sustainable manner. As such, production, stock, production factors, economic output and many others items have at one time or another been perceived as the key factor to define sustainability of forest management.
In recent years, there has been a shift in some international tropical timber markets, as a result of the threat of bans and boycotts against tropical timber, to calls for certification and labeling. Notwithstanding, the reality is that certification of the forest resource and of its products has become an increasingly political issue. This is evident from the intense international pressure on tropical timber producing countries to improve standards of forest management and from increasing concern about a dwindling tropical forest reserve. In response, tropical timber producing countries have successfully argued that worldwide timber certification should be preferred over tropical timber certification. Accordingly, this has lead to the exploration of the viability of certification as a means to improved quality of forest management in non-tropical regions as well.
In principle, certification is an important tool for tackling illegal logging, as most timber certification schemes are based on sustainability criteria, and legality is taken to be inherent within sustainability. Therefore, certified timber is an easy way for consumers to demand or identify products made from legal timber. However, there are several problems and constraints related to timber certification. These arise mainly due to the lack of generally accepted international principles and criteria to assess forest management sustainability; the lack of a widely accepted accreditation process for certifiers; and the emergence of many parallel systems.
Nonetheless, as the concept of certification began to take momentum, a host of certification programs have been developed. Whilst some of these programs are focused on global forestry, there has been an emergence of national and regional certification programs as well. Timber Design & Technology looks at the some of the leading certification programs that have gained widespread acceptance over the years.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent non-profit organization formed as an effort to establish a global system for certifying products that come from well-managed forests. The mission of FSC is to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests.
The history of FSC goes back to 1990 and since then, FSC has become the largest voluntary program for independent third-party forest certification in the world. Today, FSC is a two-pronged process that includes a forestry performance audit and a chain of custody audit. FSC does not itself certify forests but it accredits qualified independent organizations known as certification bodies to carry out on-the-ground inspection and certification.
FSC certification standards are based on ten main principles. The FSC scheme has also developed a process to monitor certified timber from forests to the consumer. The chain of custody procedure monitors the wood products through every stage of their transport, conversion and further processing. Timber that comes from sources that meet the FSC standards are eligible to carry the FSC logo, which denotes that the product comes from well-managed forests.
To date, some 41 million hectares of forest worldwide are certified to FSC's forest management standards and the FSC 'tick-tree' logo is comfortably the most widely recognized brand. FSC also enjoys the full support of the environmental NGOs, in particular Greenpeace and WWF.
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)
PEFC was founded on June 30, 1999 in Paris with the aim of promoting sustainably managed forests through independent third-party certification. PEFC is an umbrella organization, which facilitates mutual recognition among the numerous national certification standards developed in a multi- stakeholder process. Although initially developed to address the European situation, PEFC today has worldwide appeal. The unique feature of PEFC's scheme is that it encourages a bottom- up approach to the multi-stakeholder development of certification standards and respects the use of regional political processes for promoting sustainable forest management as a basis for certification standards.
In the last two years, PEFC has emerged and has grown with such rapidity that it now manages a greater area of certified forest than FSC. To date, 13 European countries have
had their national forest certification systems endorsed by PEFC, amounting to a combined certified forest area of 51.6 million hectares. Further, its 35 worldwide independent national forest certification systems represent more than 210 million hectares of certified forests, making it the largest forest certification system in the world, covering about two-thirds of the globally certified forest area.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international non-profit organization, which establishes global standards for various products, production processes and services to ensure that they meet an acceptable level of quality. Of all the standards in the ISO 14000 series, the ISO 14001 for Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is the only standard against which it is currently possible to be certified by an external third-party certification authority.
The certification process includes identification of environmental aspects of the operation, which pose high risk to the environment, setting objectives and targets to reduce the environmental impacts, identification of changes required to meet the goals and objectives, implementation of new practices and continuous evaluation of their effectiveness. The ISO standard is a more process- based certification system and is applied at the level of entire enterprises. It also does not include specific, on-the-ground standards for forest management, but focuses more on improved environmental planning. The ISO 14001 system gained wide acceptance around the world largely due to the recognition of ISO. Today, many companies prefer their forests to be certified under dual certification programs, often one being the ISO standard.
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)
The SFI program was launched in 1994 as one of the U.S. forest sector's contributions to the vision of sustainable development established by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Its original principles and implementation guidelines began in 1995, and it evolved as the first SFI national standard backed by third-party audits in 1998.
Today, SFI Inc. is an independent, non-profit organization responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving a sustainable forestry certification program that is internationally recognized and is the largest single forest standard in the world. The SFI Standard is based on principles and measures that promote sustainable forest management and consider all forest values. It is a comprehensive system of principles, objectives and performance measures developed to integrate both responsible environmental practices and sound business practices. The SFI verification includes both first and second party verification as well as independent third-party certification of conformance to the SFI standards. Today, more than 79 million hectares of forestland in North America are certified to the SFI forest management standard, making it among the world's largest sustainable forestry programs.
Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
The Canadian Standards Association Sustainable Forest Management standard is the leading forest certification standard in use in Canada. First released in 1996, it is Canada's official National Standard for Sustainable Forest Management and managed forests certified to this standard stretch from coast to coast. The Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the official standards setting body for Canada, established a set of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) standards adapted from the six Canadian SFM criteria originally established by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers.
The six criteria outline the environmental, social and economic values to be managed for all forests. These standards are consistent with ISO 14001, and also require public participation and audits that verify performance. The first certification under this system was completed in June 1999 and so far, approximately 67.3 million hectares have been certified under this standard.
American Tree Farm System (ATFS)
The American Tree Farm System (ATFS) includes 27 million acres of certified forestland managed by America's family forest owners who are meeting the highest standards of sustainability and managing their lands for water, wildlife, wood, and recreation. ATFS, the largest and oldest sustainable family woodland system in America, is also internationally recognized, meeting strict third-party certification standards. For more than 70 years, ATFS has enhanced the quality of America's woodlands by giving forest owners the tools they need to keep their forests healthy and productive. Offering certification to landowners who are committed to good forest management, ATFS certifies forest management to eight standards of sustainability.
A program of the American Forest Foundation, ATFS has been endorsed by PEFC since 2008. The ATFS certification process incorporates established standards and guidelines and offers three certification options, which must conform to the Standards of Sustainability for Forest Certification. These standards recognize new conservation forestry practices and evolving consumer demand for sustainably harvested forest products. Once ATFS verifies that the standards are met and the Tree Farm is certified, landowners can proudly display the ATFS green and white sign - the national symbol for good forestry.
Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFCS)
The essential elements of the Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFCS), which commenced with the drafting of the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) in 2000, were fully developed during 2002 and 2003 to provide an 'Australian forest certification scheme' based on Australia's conformity assessment framework. The AFS is a nationally endorsed Australian Standard that has been developed within the recognized international frameworks of the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators (1995) and the ISO 14000 series of international, voluntary environmental management standards, but which takes account of local operating conditions.
As such, the objective of the Australian Forestry Standard is to provide forest managers and owners with economic, social, environmental and cultural criteria and requirements that support the sustainable management of forests for wood production. As the leading authoritative voice for forest and wood products certification in Australia, the AFCS scheme has an open and transparent process for stakeholder consultation and involvement in the review and ongoing improvement of the standards to ensure business relevance and capability, environmental responsibility and social awareness. Moreover, the AFCS National Standards are world-class forestry standards that have been endorsed by PEFC as well. To date, the AFCS has been used to certify over 8.7 million hectares (77 percent) of native forests and plantations across Australia and the AFCS target is to certify the remaining 2.5 million hectares by this year.
Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS)
The Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) began operation in October 2001 using a phased approach due to the greater challenges encountered in managing the complex tropical forests in Malaysia. Managed by the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC), an independent non- profit organization, the MTCS is a voluntary national timber certification scheme that provides assurance to buyers of Malaysian timber products that the products have been sourced from sustainably managed forests.
The standard initially used for assessing Forest Management Units (FMUs) for the purpose of certification was the Malaysian Criteria, Indicators, Activities and Standards of Performance for Forest Management Certification, (MC&I 2001) which is based on the 1998 ITTO Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests. During the second phase of the implementation of the MTCS, which began in late 2005, the MTCC has been using the Malaysian Criteria and Indicators for Forest Management Certification (MC&I 2002), which contains nine principles, 47 criteria and 96 indicators.
The MTCS is the first tropical timber certification scheme in the Asia Pacific region, and the second in the world after the Gabonese Forest Certification Scheme, to be endorsed by the PEFC. To date, a total of nine Certificates for Forest Management have been issued to Forest Management Units (FMUs) covering 4.65 million hectares or 32 percent of the total permanent reserved forests (PRFs) in Malaysia. Eight of the certified FMUs (Pahang, Selangor, Terengganu, Kedah, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan and Johor) are in Peninsular Malaysia, while the Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve is located in Sabah. All certified FMUs under the MTCS are now considered as PEFC- certified and the MTCS-certified logs originating from these FMUs and their downstream products are now eligible to carry the PEFC Logo.
There are more than 150 Malaysian timber companies (manufacturers and exporters) that hold the PEFC Chain of Custody under the MTCS, dealing with a wide variety of tropical timber products, including sawn timber, plywood, veneer, mouldings, laminated timber and garden furniture.
Indonesian Eco-labelling Institute (LEI - Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia)
The Indonesian Eco-labelling Institute (LEI - Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia) is a non-profit constituent based organization that develops forest certification systems as part of its mission to promote sustainable forest resource management in Indonesia. Established in 1994, LEI is a constituent based organization and as such has retained its independence and transparency, which are both necessary for the credibility of forest certification. LEI introduced its certification program to implement Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in 1998. The system and its criteria and indicators are based on the ITTO, FSC and ISO principles, criteria and guidelines.
Mutually recognized by FSC, LEI's certification includes schemes for: Natural forest certification; Plantation forest certification; Community forest certification; and Chain of Custody (COC), a log tracking system for industries that process forest products such as furniture, plywood, sawn wood and pulp and paper. The LEI certification schemes have been designed specifically considering the Indonesian context with a focus on community forestry, a commitment to involving traditional communities, and a multi stake-holder approach that is supported by NGOs, indigenous communities, forest companies and the government.
Brazilian National Forest Certification Program (Cerflor)
Forest certification began in Brazil in the mid-90s as a reaction to environmental concerns and pressure from international consumer groups. Initially considered to be a response to deforestation and illegal timber extraction, it soon extended to all forest activities, including industrial plantations. Despite the parallel FSC process underway, Brazilian forest industry associations such as the Brazilian Silvicultural Society (SBS) were keen on the creation of an autonomous national forest certification scheme.
The system, entitled the Brazilian National Forest Certification Program (Cerflor), is managed by the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (INMETRO), a government agency connected to the Ministry of Development, Industry
and Foreign Trade. Today, INMETRO accredits certification bodies associated with Cerflor whilst the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) is charged with the process of development and revision of Cerflor standards for forest management and chain-of-custody practices.
Cerflor was officially launched in 2002 and started to operate in March 2003. Endorsed by PEFC, Cerflor is based on five principles - accompanied by criteria and indicators - that vary according to local conditions. Significant emphasis is placed on management plans, monitoring exercises and development plans for the local communities, however no minimum and clear social and environmental requirements exist with regards to performance. Cerflor follows norms similar in name to those established by FSC in Brazil, but are considered more process-oriented than FSC. Despite the presence of the FSC standards, Cerflor proponents consider it desirable to offer an optional parallel standard to companies. Nonetheless, both FSC and Cerflor certification requirements take as a starting point the forest management criteria defined in Brazilian regulatory law.
Pan African Forest Certification (PAFC)
The African Timber Organization governments decided to support a Pan African Forest Certification system (PAFC) based on the Principles, Criteria and Indicators (PCI) established by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in early 2004. These PCIs have been validated by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and have been tested in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Central African Republic and Gabon and serve as a base for sustainable African tropical forest management.
To date, Gabon is the first country to develop a national PAFC system and this system aims at becoming the basis for an all-African standard. PAFC Gabon has established standards and procedures that are compliant with the requirements of PEFC thereby enabling Gabon to became the first African member of the international PEFC Council. PAFC currently is open to other African nations, wanting to develop their national standards within the system.
International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)
The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) is an inter- governmental organization that promotes the conservation and sustainable management, and use and trade of tropical forest resources, which includes 59 member countries. Established under the auspices of the United Nations in 1986, ITTO develops internationally agreed policy documents to promote sustainable forest management and forest conservation and assists tropical member countries to adapt such policies to local circumstances and to implement them in the field through projects. In addition, ITTO collects, analyzes and disseminates data on the production and trade of tropical timber and funds a range of projects and other action aimed at developing industries at both community and industrial scales.
ITTO has developed guidelines, criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management for tropical countries, which are being further elaborated in some producing member countries. These international and national criteria and indicators are not being developed specifically for certification purposes but they can serve as a useful framework in this regard. It is noteworthy that the various processes are not necessarily developing criteria and indicators at the same level; some are working at the national or regional level, while others are concentrating on the management unit level.
Beyond Certification
Timber certification is certainly a positive step towards sustainable management of the world's forests. However, there is one major issue in certification that is of paramount importance - gaining credibility for the certification procedure. The truth is that there is no easy path towards attaining credibility, as we are confronted with the apparent complexity that credibility actually means different things to different people, and to the same people in different settings.
While certification is an important tool, it is certainly not a measure of sustainability. It is interesting to note that FSC adopts the ISO position on the usage of the term 'sustainability', which is that it cannot truly be determined and, instead, requires certificate holders to describe FSC certified products as sourced from 'responsibly managed forests' and not 'sustainable' forests. It is also important to understand that, while certification schemes can provide reassurance to the buyer that the timber they are buying is from responsibly managed forests, there are other ways to determine this. This is particularly relevant for timber sourced from North America and Europe, where there is a long history of good forest governance and a proven track record of responsible forest management.
In fact, in these cases, one might ask what the relevance of timber certification is. At present, the certification picture is somewhat muddled on account of the development of many competing and even conflicting systems as discussed above. There is a very real risk that timber suppliers may be required to obtain more than one certificate for the same product in order to satisfy different groups of customers, on account of their preference for a particular scheme, or sometimes to even comply with mandatory schemes, which are a prerequisite towards doing business in a given country.
That being said, any viable timber certification scheme will have to be seen to be credible, objective with transparent and measurable criteria, reliable and independent and, most importantly, covering all types of timber. The issue still remains very sensitive in nature and no doubt influenced by politics. Nonetheless, it will remain an actively debated topic with no foreseeable solution in the near future.
© Timber Design & Technology 2012
