Certification

Throughout the world, companies and governments are coming under increasing pressure to adopt measures to verify that products have been produced by methods that are environmentally acceptable. Forest certification schemes have been established by independent, not-for-profit non-government organisations to promote sustainable forest management and assure that forests are well managed in line with challenging environmental, social and economic requirements.

In Australia, forest owners and managers have a choice of forest certification schemes. These are:

• the Responsible Wood Certification Scheme, which requires verification of compliance with AS4807:2013 The Australian Standard for Sustainable Forest Management.  This scheme is endorsed internationally by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
• Forest Stewardship Council® Certification, which requires verification that forests are well-managed in accordance with Forest Stewardship Council®’s Principles & Criteria (FSC-STD-01-001 (V5-0)).

PF Olsen Australia has developed its standard operating procedures to conform to the requirements of both these schemes. This has been verified by independent assessments. Currently, PF Olsen Australia operates two certification schemes; one for a large institutional client that carries dual certification to both standards, and the second is a low-cost scheme for small forest growers (ForestSmart).

This means PF Olsen Australia can:

• Help you sell your wood domestically and internationally to buyers that require assurance about the legality of your wood and the quality of the forest management.
• Provide assurance to institutional owners of timberlands that the forests are "well managed" and, in so doing, reduce the risk of their investments.