Revised Sustainable Forest Management standard approved

14 November 2018 Sustainable Forest Management

Today was a future defining day for PEFC, as the PEFC General Assembly voted on the approval of our revised Sustainable Forest Management standard. We are delighted to announce that it was approved.

Approval by the PEFC General Assembly is the final step in the development and revision of our standards. The revision of this benchmark standard began in 2016, and it has taken the input of numerous experts and hundreds of stakeholders to reach this point. But the work doesn’t stop there – now comes the implementation process!

The revised PEFC Group Certification standard was also approved on the same day.

So what has changed?

The PEFC Sustainable Forest Management benchmark is at the core of what we do. It provides the basis for the requirements that forest owners or managers must meet to achieve PEFC certification at local level.

This new benchmark extends the impact of PEFC certification beyond forests and enhances its contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We have expanded the social requirements to include minimum wages for forest workers, equal opportunities for employment and non-discrimination, and promote gender equality. There are also enhanced provisions designed to safeguard the interests of indigenous peoples.

With the inclusion of Trees outside Forests (TOF), PEFC certification will become accessible to the millions of farmers and smallholders that do not own or manage forests, but rather trees on agricultural or settlement land that are currently outside the scope of certification.

Find out more about the changes by listening to our two webinars: Sustainable Forest Management and Trees outside Forests. You can also now access the revised benchmark standard.