Newsletter January 2017 • Issue 43
Notification Fees Held for 2017 AT its final meeting in 2016, the PEFC UK Board recognised that for many certified companies, trading conditions remain challenging. It was therefore unanimously agreed that the annual notification fees levied by PEFC UK, would remain at their current rates. There will therefore be no increase in notification fees for either UK Chain of Custody or Forest Management certificate holders in 2017. We wish all our members a happy and prosperous New Year.
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New Chairman for PEFC International PETER Latham was elected Chairman of PEFC
Commenting on his appointment, Peter
KEEP up to
International at the organisation’s General
acknowledged that PEFC had made
date with the
Assembly which was held in Bali last November.
remarkable progress in recent years, with
latest news
significant growth in certified forest area,
from PEFC
Peter, who was awarded an OBE in the 2012
a growing number of new members and
UK and PEFC
New Years Honours List for services to the UK
increasing acceptance in public sector and
International
wood industry, is Chairman of one of Britain’s
corporate procurement policies around the
by liking us on
oldest timber companies, James Latham PLC.
world. However, he acknowledged that the
Facebook and
He is also a former Chairman PEFC UK and
organisation still faced some important
following us on
the Forests Forever Committee of the Timber
challenges but expressed confidence that
Twitter.
Trade Federation and a member of the Council
the global PEFC family was well equipped to
of the Commonwealth Forestry Association.
meet them.
Click on the link: www.pefc.co.uk info@.pefc.co.uk PEFCUK @PEFC_UK pefcinternational
Global PEFC Family Gathers in Bali
IN November, a delegation from PEFC UK
Macedonia and Romania – to its ranks,
Demand for PEFC Chain of Custody
travelled to Bali, Indonesian for PEFC Week.
bringing the number of national members
continued to grow as well with PEFC
This was the second time that PEFC Week was
to 46. Also worth celebrating this year was
Germany, adding the highest number
held in Asia, following a PEFC General Assembly
news that the area certified to PEFC-endorsed
of certificates closely followed by PEFC
in Malaysia in 2013. PEFC has been gaining
scheme had risen by 35 million hectares,
Spain in second place and China Forest
momentum in developing and supporting
making PEFC the fastest growing global
Certification Council (CFCC) in third.
certification in Asia. Across the region, countries
forest certification programme. In Australia
are striving towards sustainable forest
alone, more than 16 million hectares of forest
This year the Stakeholder Dialogue
management with a view to becoming certified.
became PEFC-certified – an achievement that
explored the role of forest certification and
PEFC has now endorsed schemes in Indonesia,
won Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) the
sustainable supply chains in promoting
Malaysia, China and Japan. Additionally, India
top prize for growth during our PEFC Forest
sustainable landscapes for sustainable
is currently developing a national forest
Certification Week awards ceremony. PEFC’s
livelihoods. Through a range of interesting
management standard with a view to future
North American member, the Sustainable
and thought-provoking sessions, there were
endorsement by PEFC.
Forestry Initiative (SFI) and PEFC Russia added
discussions on how sustainable forestry
8.2 million and 8.1 million hectares of certified
and forest certification can contribute over
The General Assembly saw PEFC welcome
forest, respectively. This brings PEFC’s global
and above its current remit to sustainable
three new member countries – Thailand,
certified area to 300 million hectares.
development.
New Director for PEFC UK PEFC has appointed a new director to its UK
of selecting the best
products in the UK and
Board. Elisabeth Piveteau, UK & Ireland Export
quality softwood from
Ireland in addition to
Manager at PiveteauBois, brings a fresh voice
certified forests in
raising awareness of
to PEFC UK in addition to invaluable knowledge
France and Poland.
France as Europe’s joint
Elisabeth joined the
producer alongside Austria.
of the European timber supply chain and issues surrounding sustainable forestry.
fourth largest softwood family company after twenty
PiveteauBois is a leading French softwood
years’ experience in sales and business
sawmiller and manufacturer of timber
development in the intellectual property
the UK, welcomed Elisabeth’s appointment
products for the construction, landscaping
and scientific information markets. She
saying “we will benefit enormously from her
and energy sectors and is France’s number
has previously worked at industry leaders
knowledge of the French timber sector which
one supplier of wood pellets. It is a family-
Thomson Reuters, Lexis Nexis and Macmillan.
will better enable us to meet the expectations
run business with a deep passion for wood
Her mission at PiveteauBois is to develop and
of one of our key stakeholder groups, those
and more than sixty five years expertise
grow a customer base for its value-added
exporting to the UK market.”
Alun Watkins, who heads up PEFC in
Click on the link: www.pefc.co.uk info@.pefc.co.uk PEFCUK @PEFC_UK pefcinternational
Royal Forestry Society 2017 Awards
PEFC UK COMPANY SPOTLIGHT Whittle Flooring Company Ltd
2000th Logo License Holder WE warmly congratulate Whittle Flooring on becoming PEFC UK’s 2000th logo licence holder. The company, based in Leyland, Lancashire, specialises in the
Certified companies are strongly
manufacture of quality vehicle flooring
encouraged to apply for a logo license
systems. The precision flooring and interior
to provide access to the PEFC label. Past
panels it produces are supplied to the UK’s
studies have shown that environmental
leading bus and train manufacturers.
labels such as PEFC’s communicate trust by enabling companies to visibly
The company takes its environmental
communicate a commitment to responsible
responsibilities seriously. The birch used
sourcing.
in the manufacture of its plywood floor panels, comes from sustainably-managed
PEFC’s on-line logo generator makes light
ENTRIES are now invited for the RFS
forests in Finland and PEFC Chain of
work of creating PEFC labels. For more
Excellence in Forestry Education and
Custody certified suppliers.
information e-mail info@pefc.co.uk
Learning Award 2017. PEFC UK is proud to sponsor this award for the seventh year in succession. The Royal Forestry Society is the UK’s largest forestry education charity. It was founded in 1882 and now has almost 4,000 members. This Award seeks to encourage and reward
Leading Mail Order Invests in PEFC Certification
schools, colleges, universities and other
IN October, leading French mail order
to the wood and wood products we
recognised training providers who increase
company, La Redoute announced that
manufacture”.
awareness, understanding and skills related
it had achieved PEFC Chain of Custody
to the environmental, social and economic
certification. As a result, all its catalogues
potential of trees, woodlands and forests, and
now carry the PEFC label to provide
who may also demonstrate the link between
customers with assurances of responsible
trees and wood products.
paper sourcing. The company, which has more than 10 million customers, operates
Entries are invited from across Eastern
in 26 countries including the UK.
England and the Midlands (Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire,
Commenting on the new initiative, CSR
Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Rutland,
Coordinator at La Redoute, Camille
Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and the
Caron said that “We chose PEFC as it
West Midlands).
is a recognised label with a reputation as a world leader in forest certification
Details of how to enter can be found at
with a reliable, independent third
http://bit.ly/2iLiR2u. The deadline for
party certification system. We are also
entries is 7 March 2017
considering expanding PEFC certification
Click on the link: www.pefc.co.uk info@.pefc.co.uk PEFCUK @PEFC_UK pefcinternational
New Addition to the PEFC UK Team
Meet PEFC UK Surface Design Show Awards Thursday 9th February 2017 Business Design Centre, London
http://bit.ly/16v3Atg
WE are delighted to announce that Julia Annual General Meeting
Cobham joined the PEFC UK team in Sheffield
Tuesday 4th July 2017
earlier this month. Before taking up her
NCVO Offices, London
administrative role at PEFC, Julia worked as a legal secretary and has also held a variety
Annual Stakeholder Day
of administrative posts including serving as a
Tuesday 4th July 2017
Committee Clerk for Pembrokeshire County
NCVO Offices, London
Council and as a Customer Services Advisor at M&S Bank.
New Publications from PEFC UK TWO new publications have recently been
past financial
added to the PEFC library. PEFC Group
year to
PEFC Group
PEFC GROUP CERTIFICATION
t Managemen ble Forest tes Sustaina ’s forests PEFC promo world the t tec profit, nonpro ational nonand helps on) is an intern nt through st Certificati
Certification – Cost Effective and Inclusive stody
Chain of Cu
ensure
plementing Chain ImCe of Custody for Smaller Companies rtification
that slavery
seeks to explain how this kind of certification
and human
can enable smaller companies to gain Chain
trafficking
of Custody at an affordable cost.
has not taken
int group and appo certification cation n of Custody rs the certifi to form a Chai and administe This come together ger develops the members. Companies al audits of The Group Mana intern p. ger. al grou e annu Mana s ifiabl a Group formally ident p and undertake for the grou her under this procedures certified toget member to be p must enables each bers of the Grou is that all mem ody and p Certification Chain of Cust ly nts of PEFC al basis of Grou eligible to supp the requireme are all The fundament they with . it to complying this is achieved, the PEFC label audit. Once al formally comm use and intern this during the ken supply chain demonstrate of the unbro part a as material PEFC-certified n implement Chai necessary to depend The exact steps costs involved, as well as the size, of Custody, as employee factors (such ver). Group on multiple ction and turno produ of complexity ation produced dinate the inform cate Managers co-or is the certifi Members and by Scheme be a specific p Manager can entity such holder. A Grou rienced legal ber, an expe n. Group Mem ciatio asso t or a trade as a consultan
Manageme rsement of Fore inable Forest ramme for Endo promoting Susta PEFC (Prog dedicated to organisation governmental cation. third-party certifi independent
with Group
Certification
p Certification
ral existing Grou There are seve be able to join:
Sche
you may
• LIGNA, ration dworking Fede • British Woo er Audits • Oxford Timb ation. further inform C3R8w4 for ite http://bit.ly/1 Please visit PEFC UK webs found on the ody can be Chain of Cust ation about More inform t.ly/2bYfc0I at http://bi e. You can advic er furth UK team for ct the PEFC 307 2334. you to conta hone 0114 We also invite .co.uk or telep info@pefc reach us at
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 sets out a range of measures on how modern slavery and human traffickin g is dealt with in the UK. Section 54 of the Act entitled Transparency in Supply Chains is relevant to business es with a global turnover of over £36 million and which conduct busines s or part of a business in the United Kingdom.
WHAT ARE A COMPANY’S LEGAL OBLIGATIONS?
the company’s
taken place either in the company’s operations or its supply chain, both in the UK and abroad.
WHEN DO COMPANIES NEED TO PUBLISH THIS STATEMENT? Businesses with a financial year ending on or after 31st March 2016 will need to publish a Slavery and Human Trafficking statement as soon as possible after the company ’s financial year end.
HOW CAN PEFC CERTIFICATION HELP? PEFC-certified compani es and users of PEFC certified products (who may also have to comply with the legislation) can refer to the PEFC standard s to help demonstrate that forced labour has not been used in their supply chain for certfied products.
The social criteria in PEFC’s Sustainable Forest Managem ent and Chain of Custody standards are based on the Internat ional Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principl es and Rights at Work. The ILO Declaration sets out four fundamental principles and rights in its core conventions – the second of which is particularly relevant to the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: 1. Freedom of associati on and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining 2. Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour 3. Effective abolition of child labour 4. Elimination of discrimin ation in respect of employment and occupation. You can find out more about the ILO’s work at: www.ilo.org
operations or
ited PEFC UK Lim y Parks, Cooper Buildings, Technolog
compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Act entitled
WHAT IS THE ACT AND WHO HAS TO COMPLY?
All businesses which meet the criteria above must publish a Slavery and Human Trafficking statemen t on their website with a prominen t link to it from its homepage. The statemen t should show the steps it has taken during the past financial year to ensure that slavery and human traffickin g has not
place either in
to help certified companies demonstrate that mes in the UK
and Cost-Effective of Custody in Inclusive Cha panies Com for Smaller
has n systems and t certificatio national fores hectares of by endorsing 300 million m. PEFC works unt for over cation syste organisation, ther these acco product certifi As a federal countries. Toge t and wood systems in 43 ’s largest fores world recognised the ed forest area. ts, making PEFC globe’s certifi certified fores hirds of the alent to two-t ars come from appe This is equiv it h whic of on Chain the products ed in PEFC rances that companies involv of PEFCprovides assu than 18,000 on thousands The PEFC label ts. With more now appears naged fores “two trees” label responsibly-ma ’s distinctive cation, PEFC Custody certifi d the world. aroun cts certified produ
The second is an information sheet designed Get Involved
HOW PEFC CERTIFICATION CAN DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE WITHELP H THE MODERN SLAVERY ACT 2015
its supply chain,
Sheffield S1 2NS t, Sheffield Arundel Stree 307 2334 +44 (0)114 t co.uk e info@pefc. k .co.u w www.pefc
both in the UK
Transparency in Supply Chains is relevant
EFC-0612
cation no. BMT-P
ons. Certifi ve Print Soluti Northend Creati ages.com ied paper by ation, FreeIm PEFC Certif working Feder Printed on s: British Wood Image credit
and abroad.
to companies with a global turnover of over £36 million and which conduct business or
The information sheet shows how
part of a business in the United Kingdom. All
PEFC-certified companies and users of
businesses which meet these criteria must
PEFC certified products (who may also have
Copies of both publications are available free
publish a Slavery and Human Trafficking
to comply with the legislation) can refer
of charge. They can be downloaded from the
statement on their website with a prominent
to PEFC’s certification standards to help
PEFC UK website or printed copies can be
link to it from its home page. The statement
demonstrate that forced labour has not been
obtained by e-mailing:
should show the steps it has taken during the
used in their certified products supply chain.
hilary.khawam@pefc.co.uk
ALUN WATKINS PEFC UK Executive Director awatkins@pefc.co.uk / 0114 307 2334
HILARY KHAWAM PEFC UK Communications & Marketing Director hilary.khawam@pefc.co.uk / 01689 819902
Please call Alun for all general enquiries and queries about Chain of Custody and use of the PEFC logo.
Click on the link: www.pefc.co.uk info@.pefc.co.uk PEFCUK @PEFC_UK pefcinternational