Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Your Assurance of Responsible Sourcing
PEFC UK news WWW.PEFC.CO.UK
ISSUE 41 • JULY 2016
Annual Stakeholder Day The speaker’s panel at the Annual Stakeholder Day Left to right: Ignacio Gavilan, Riikka Joukio, Martyn White, Steve Cook and Sarah Price
Earlier this month PEFC UK held its Annual Stakeholder Day in London. The theme of this year’s event was Market Drivers for Certified Products. An expert panel of speakers from a range of sectors was on hand to provide insights into the market-based initiatives that are driving demand for certified products. The event was sponsored by AB Group Packaging, certification body CATG and Finnish forest products company Metsä. Julian Walker-Palin, a non-executive Director of PEFC International, and formerly Wal-Mart’s Head of Corporate Responsibility at Asda chaired the event. The keynote speaker was Ignacio Gavilan, Director of Sustainability for the influential global industry group, The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF). Formed in 1960, the CGF has developed into a leading forum on the issues of compliance and implementation surrounding product sustainability. Other speakers included Martyn White, Manager of Sustainability for the John Lewis Partnership, who provided a retailer’s perspective on managing risk and enhancing brand value through responsible sourcing. Steve Cook, Principal Sustainable Development Manager for Willmott Dixon highlighted what the UK construction sector is doing to ensure that the timber it uses comes from well-managed forests. Riikka Joukio, Senior Vice-President for Sustainability and Corporate Affairs at the Metsä Group, and a former cochair of the WBCSD Forest Solutions Group, provided a perspective from the packaging sector and urged those buying wood-based materials to actively support sustainable forest
Julian Walker-Palin
management certification by asking for certified products. PEFC International’s Sarah Price completed the speaker line up, delivering an update on PEFC’s work to grow certified forests to meet customer demand. The presentations from the event can be downloaded from the PEFC UK website: www.pefc.co.uk/events/pefc-ukannual-stakeholder-meeting-2016
Autumn Stakeholder Seminars Key personnel from certified companies such as Chain of Custody administrators, marketing and sales are invited to take part in one of two workshops we will be hosting in October. The first will be held in London on Wednesday 5th October and the second in Glasgow on Wednesday 12th October. These half day seminars will cover a range of topics including Sustainable Forest Management, Chain of Custody certification, the use of the PEFC label and the market drivers for certified forest products. They are free to attend but places are strictly limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis so early registration is recommended. For an invitation with full details, e-mail info@pefc.co.uk
PEFC UK 2016 Annual General Meeting PEFC and FSC remain 100% compliant with the Category A legality criteria. Both schemes were also found to be over 90% compliant with the sustainability criteria and as such continue to deliver the CPET requirements for legality and sustainability.
Ross Bradshaw
Earlier this month, PEFC UK held its 15th Annual General Meeting in London. In his first annual report, Chairman Ross Bradshaw, paid tribute to his predecessor Hugh Miller who retired at the last AGM. He also highlighted PEFC UK’s key achievements over the past year; the re-endorsement of PEFC’s sustainable forest management scheme by CPET and the increasing visibility of the PEFC label on the high street. CPET’s 2015 review of the public sector timber procurement policy (TPP) Category A Evidence, concluded that both
Over the past year several high street restaurant chains have now committed to using PEFC-certified packaging for their products. KFC use the PEFC label on its customer-facing packaging to provide assurances of responsible sourcing. Pizza Hut uses the PEFC label on its chicken buckets and McDonald’s recently announced the packaging used in its European restaurants is now certified. It is excellent news that companies accounting for such a large proportion of our high street food outlets, have pledged to source their packaging sustainably to help protect the world’s forests. Further highlights of the year can be found in our 2016 Annual Report. The Report also contains a review of our marketing and communications activities over the past year and an update on PEFC International’s progress. The publication also contains facts and figures outlining the growth in demand for forest and Chain of Custody certification around the world. It can be downloaded from the website at: www.pefc.co.uk/ publications/annual-report-2016 or printed copies can be requested by e-mailing info@pefc.co.uk
PEFC UK Annual Field Trip This year, the venue for PEFC’s Annual Field Trip switched from Lockerbie in the Scottish Borders to Hexham, Northumberland. The event sought to showcase sustainable forest management in action to more than twenty stakeholders from a broad range of sectors including timber trading, construction, retail, paper and packaging. This was the fourth consecutive year that PEFC has run this increasingly popular event. The group visited a Scottish Woodlands forest site to witness harvesting taking place and learn more about what sustainable forest management entails. On the second day, participants had a choice of site visits – Egger’s Hexham manufacturing plant for those from the timber and construction industries while those working in the paper,
Visit to Egger Plant at Hexham
packaging and retail sectors were guests of SCA Hygiene Products at Prudhoe. The annual field trip is designed to showcase Sustainable Forest Management, illustrate in a practical way what Chain of Custody certification involves and demonstrate the rigorous processes involved in bringing certified wood products to market.
PEFC UK Goes East Olympic and Paralympics Games, are important drivers in encouraging companies, suppliers and customers to benefit from the sustainable management practices of the country’s many family forest owners.” In addition to representing PEFC UK in the endorsement celebrations, Alun also spoke at a PEFC Project Chain of Custody training session for auditors and companies, to help them prepare for the numerous construction projects planned for the Olympic Games. Earlier this month, Japan became the latest country to achieve PEFC endorsement of its national forest certification system. To celebrate this milestone, the Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC) – the PEFC National member for Japan – hosted a Forest Certification Forum. A diverse range of stakeholders were in attendance and the guest of honour was Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado. PEFC UK’s Executive Director Alun Watkins attended the event to share the experiences of sustainable timber procurement at the London 2012 Olympic Games with the city hosting the event in 2020, Tokyo. Congratulating SGEC on their achievement, PEFC International’s CEO, Ben Gunneberg remarked that “the international recognition that endorsement brings, alongside the preparations for the upcoming Tokyo
Packaging Innovations 2016 If you are planning to visit this year’s Packaging Innovations show at London’s Olympia exhibition centre in September, please stop by Stand D8 and say hello to the PEFC team. This will be our third consecutive year at the show where we will be co-exhibiting with PEFC’s North American member; SFI as well as PEFC certified packaging company AB Group.
2016 RFS Excellence in Forestry Education & Learning Award For the sixth consecutive year, PEFC UK has co-sponsored a Royal Forestry Society Education & Learning Award. This Award encourages and rewards schools, colleges, universities and other recognised training providers who increase awareness, understanding and skills related to the environmental, social and economic potential of trees, woodlands and forest. The RFS is the UK’s largest forestry education charity. Founded in 1882, it now has almost 4,000 members. The RFS 2016 Gold Award for Excellence in Forestry – Education and Learning award went to the Bill Hogarth Memorial Apprenticeship Trust based in Carnforth, Lancashire. The Trust was set up in 2001 in memory of Bill Hogarth who worked as a coppice merchant in Cumbria for many years. He taught and mentored many people working in coppicing today. The apprenticeship scheme aims to increase the number of trained coppice workers and promote the management of broad
Education and Learning Award Gold winners Kath Morgan and Twiggy BHMAT with Alun Watkins left and Ted Wilson of RFS right
leaved woodland using environmentally sustainable methods which encourage biodiversity. Each apprentice works with a sponsor, already running a coppicing business, for three years. Once the apprentices have learned their trade, they set establish their own business in the final year of training.
Green Building’s LEED Credit Promotes Sustainable Forestry The UK green building movement can now benefit from an expanded range of responsibly-sourced timber and forest products eligible for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Earlier this year, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) issued an Alternative Compliance Path (ACP). This rewards building projects that use “wood products from certified sources as defined by ASTM D7612-10”, which includes internationally recognised voluntary forest certification standards such as PEFC’s. The ACP will apply to all LEED v4 rating systems including Homes v4 and to all LEED 2009 rating systems.
Green building standards such as LEED and the better known in the UK, BREEAM, together with industry and private sector responsible sourcing initiatives are vital in driving demand for certified timber. They send a strong signal to forest owners that their investment in sustainable forest management and certification is valued and appreciated by companies and customers. Further details can be found at: www.pefc.co.uk/marketsfor-pefc/construction-building-design
UK Forest Certification System Endorsement The global public consultation for the UK national forest certification systems is now open, following submission to PEFC International for endorsement. Stakeholders from around the world are invited to comment on the scheme’s compliance with PEFC International’s Sustainability Benchmarks by 7 August 2016. This is the fourth time that PEFC UK has submitted its SFM national standard to PEFC for endorsement. PEFC International ensures that national systems are revised regularly in multi-stakeholder processes by limiting the validity of endorsements to five years, after which they can apply for re-endorsement to continue benefitting from PEFC recognition. As part of the endorsement process, PEFC seeks comments and feedback from all interested parties to ensure full
compliance of the UK national system with PEFC’s Sustainability Benchmarks during the 60-day global public consultation. All comments received during the global public consultation will provide valuable information for the thirdparty assessor in determining whether the UK’s national system meets PEFC’s international requirements. All stakeholders are invited to use PEFC’s Online Consultation Tool http://consultations. pefc.org/consult.ti/system/ calendar to provide comments by 7 August 2016.
Contacts
Meet PEFC
Alun Watkins PEFC UK Executive Director e awatkins@pefc.co.uk t 0114 307 2334 Please call Alun for all general enquiries and queries about Chain of Custody and use of the PEFC logo.
2016 PEFC Stakeholder Dialogue 17th-18th November 2016 Bali, Indonesia
Hilary Khawam PEFC Communications and Marketing Director e hilary.khawam@pefc.co.uk t 01689 819902
The vibrant backdrop of Bali, Indonesia will set the scene for the 2016 PEFC Stakeholder Dialogue - the main public event of PEFC Forest Certification Week - as we explore the role of forest certification and sustainable supply chains in promoting sustainable landscapes for sustainable livelihoods. Further details: (click for link)