Forest certification

The lecture provides basic and more detailed information on forest

certification as a third-party voluntary, market-based mechanism to promote the
sustainable use of forest resources. The lecture explains what forest certification is,
differentiates between forest management certification and chain-of-custody
certification, sets out the benefits and costs, and describes the steps that a forest
manager must take to acquire it. It also provides links to tools and case studies to
foster access to, compliance with and use of forest certification.

What is forest certification?

Forest certification is a voluntary process whereby an independent third party

(the “certifier”) assesses the quality of forest management and production against a
set of requirements (“standards”) predetermined by a public or private certification
organization. Forest certification, and associated labelling, is a way of informing
consumers about the sustainability of the forests from which wood and other forest
products were produced.

There are two types of forest certification:

1. certification of forest management, which assesses whether forests are being

managed according to a specified set of standards; and

2. certification of the chain of custody (sometimes referred to as CoC certification),

which verifies that certified material is identified or kept separate from non-certified or
non-controlled material through the production process, from the forest to the final
consumer. To label an end-product as certified, both forest management certification
and chain-of-custody certification are required. Most forest management certification
standards address a wide range of economic, social, environmental and technical
aspects of forest management, including the well-being of workers and of families
living in and around the forest area subject to certification.

Why might forest managers be interested in certification?

Forest managers – such as forest owners, entrepreneurs, associations and timber

companies – may voluntarily decide to apply for certification. They may do so in
expectation of better prices for their products, to maintain or increase access to
markets for their products, to improve their public image, and to achieve social and
environmental goals.

Forest certification is a market mechanism to promote the sustainable use

and management of forests and to identify “sustainably produced” products for the
consumer. The aim is to reward forest managers who pursue sustainable forest
practices rather than practices with the potential to cause negative economic, social
and environmental impacts. A certification label on a forest product informs potential
buyers that the product was produced in a well-managed forest in accordance with a
given set of standards. Consumers concerned about social and environmental
issues are expected to give preference to products carrying such a label, and they
may also be prepared to pay higher prices for them. Forest managers may be
motivated to pursue certification for various reasons (see “benefits” below), ultimately
leading to improvements in the quality of forest management and an increase in the
extent of well-managed forests.

What are the benefits?

In many cases, the most immediate benefit of certification for forest managers
is the streamlining of forest operations due to improvements in efficiency and greater
control of production processes. Although experience has shown that certified forest
products do not always obtain higher prices compared with uncertified products,
certification may be essential for maintaining access to some markets. Certification
has been shown to be a valuable tool for positioning products in the marketplace and
in certain sectors: in the paper and packaging sector, for example, certification is the
norm rather than the exception in many major markets. Certification can also provide
confirmation that a product fulfils legal requirements – such as those established by
laws aimed at preventing the trade of illegal timber products – and may help
producers and traders in fulfilling administrative obligations. Forest certification may
help bring about improvements in the working conditions and safety and health of
forest workers, lead to improved forest conservation outcomes, and encourage
sustainable forest use. Forest certification can help boost the public image of
companies – both those that pursue certification in their own forest operations, and
those that purchase only certified products.

What are the costs?

 Forest managers incur both direct and indirect costs in pursuing certification.
Direct costs include those associated with the certification process – such as the
fees paid to certifiers to conduct initial assessments and subsequent audits, hold
stakeholder consultations and prepare reports. Achieving certification may also
require investments in machinery, staff training, infrastructure and logistics to
improve forest management in compliance with the certification standards; these
indirect costs could be much higher than direct costs, depending on the gap between
the existing quality of management and that required to meet the certification
standards. Because the direct costs of certification are relatively fixed, they usually
decrease per unit of wood production or forest area – in other words, they decline, in
relative terms, the larger the forest operation. Indirect costs, on the other hand,
increase as operations increase in size because of the need to improve practices
across larger areas.

How is certification achieved?

Achieving forest certification can be either a quick or a lengthy process,

depending on the pre-certification quality of forest management, administration and
documentation systems, and on the capacity of the applicant to make the required
adjustments. Basic certification requirements include: compliance with the law; well-
written and coherent forest management plans; the implementation and monitoring
of operations to reduce forest damage; adequate working conditions; and good
relations with people living in and around the forest subject to the certification
process. The certification process requires that applicants take a number of steps to
demonstrate full compliance with the standards.

A certificate valid for a specified number of years is issued when compliance

has been achieved. In more depth The PEFC’s criteria for SFM standards

Criterion 1: Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of forest resources

and their contribution to the global carbon cycle

Criterion 2: Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality

Criterion 3: Maintenance and encouragement of productive functions of

forests (wood and non-wood)
 Criterion 4: Maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement of
biological diversity in forest ecosystems

Criterion 5: Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of protective functions

in forest management (notably soil and water)

Criterion 6: Maintenance of other socioeconomic functions and conditions

Criterion 7: Compliance with legal requirements The concept of forest

certification arose as a way of addressing public concerns about tropical
deforestation and forest degradation.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which pioneered forest certification in

the early 1990s, was created as a result of collaboration between environmental
non-governmental organizations, forest product companies and social interest
groups. Today, there are more than 50 certification schemes addressing a wide
variety of forest types, tenure and management regimes. The Programme for the
Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is the largest certification framework in
terms of forest area, accounting for about two-thirds of the total certified area
worldwide, while the FSC is the fastest-growing scheme (by certified area). By 2013,
the FSC and the PEFC combined had issued more than 10 000 certificates for nearly
400 million hectares of forest, of which approximately 90 percent was located in
Europe and North America. Some countries have developed their own national forest
certification standards, procedures and agencies, usually based on an international
model. Some logging companies and their representative organizations have also
established forest standards, although these are generally less rigorous than those
set by the major certification schemes. It has been noted that the existence of so
many certification schemes and standards may confuse consumers and thus
jeopardize one of the original aims of certification, which was to provide consumers
with clear, reliable information on the status of the forests from which their timber
purchases were obtained.

The FSC principles Principle 1: Compliance with laws Principle 2: Workers’

rights and employment conditions Principle 3: Indigenous peoples’ rights Principle 4:
Community relations Principle 5: Benefits from the forest Principle 6: Environmental
values and impacts Principle 7: Management planning Principle 8: Monitoring and
assessment Principle 9: High conservation values Principle 10: Implementation of
management Activities

Principles, criteria, indicators and standards

In most forest certification schemes, the specific requirements for good forest
management are presented in a hierarchical system of principles, criteria and
indicators.

Principles provide an overall framework and set out a vision of sustainable

forest management. Criteria are categories of conditions or processes by which
sustainable forest management can be assessed, and each criterion is characterized
by a set of indicators that can be monitored to assess change over time. The
process by which certification bodies have developed their principles, criteria and
indicators has varied. In 1994, the FSC defined ten global principles and associated
criteria that set the framework within which national groups could develop indicators
and verifiers specifying national and subnational standards through multistakeholder
processes. The PEFC adopted a definition of sustainable forest management that
was developed by the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe
in 1993 (and later adopted by FAO). The PEFC supplements its principles, criteria
and indicators derived from globally recognized intergovernmental processes with
additional requirements in national schemes prepared with the involvement of key
stakeholders – including forest owners and managers – and endorsed by the PEFC
Council. Certification standards are generally developed, reviewed and revised in
consultation with stakeholders. Global standards may be adapted to suit national
conditions; for example, the FSC adapts its global standards through a network of
national working groups. Despite many differences in scope, content and
procedures, all credible forest certification programmes require compliance with
existing laws and regulations; the protection of biodiversity, endangered species and
wildlife habitats; sustainable harvesting levels; the protection of water quality; respect
for the rights of local people and employees; economic viability in forest operations;
an adequate management plan; and the monitoring of operations. In addition,
certifiers are required to make audit summaries available to the public and to
establish mechanisms for complaints and appeals. The FSC and the PEFC have
differing approaches. The FSC employs a system for accrediting certifiers, who are
responsible for auditing forest operations, assessing compliance with FSC standards
(developed at a national or subnational level), and issuing FSC certificates. Forest
enterprises and groups of forest management units certified in this way are permitted
to use the FSC label on their products. In contrast, the PEFC endorses national
certification systems (e.g. the Australian Forestry Standard and the Brazilian Forest
Certification Programme), which develop their own certification standards and
accredit certifiers. Forest operations certified in this way are permitted to use the
PEFC label on their products. The accreditation process employed by the FSC and
by national certification systems involves a combination of field and office audits and
is designed to ensure that certifiers comply with the stipulated rules and procedures
and work to uniformly high standards. All national systems wishing to be PEFC-
recognized undergo an independent assessment to ensure compliance with the
PEFC’s sustainability benchmarks. Although they take different approaches, both the
FSC and the PEFC are umbrella organizations designed to ensure uniform
certification standards.