“PEFC Chain of Custody to feature at peak New Zealand wood processors conference”
Forest certification is set to be a talking point at the Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association (WPMA) Conference in Christchurch, New Zealand on Thursday, the 4th of April 2019.
And according to Responsible Wood’s Jason Ross, ‘Chain of Custody’ is an important step for the timber supply chain to demonstrate commitment to timber legality both at home but also abroad.
Jason Ross promoting PEFC across the Tasman
“Chain of Custody is a commitment from the supply chain to use timbers that are sourced from a legal origin, in the country where the timber was harvested.”
“Chain of Custody is the wood processors ‘trust mark,’ it provides processors with the opportunity to pass the globally recognised PEFC logo on product through the supply chain to the end-user of timber based products.”
And that ‘trust mark’ is crucial for New Zealand wood processing market where timber importers and exporters increasingly request that processors, suppliers, retailers and merchants demonstrate the legality of timber.
“We have seen in South Korea and Australia, PEFC forest certification is used by authorities to meet the timber legality requirements for import.”
“Both South Korea and Australia are amongst the largest export markets for New Zealand timbers,” Mr Ross said.
PEFC is one of two global forest certification schemes, along with FSC, PEFC can assist the timber supply chain in demonstrating the legal origin of timber.
“PEFC and FSC are both used in global timber markets to verify the origin of timber from its source, in the forest.”
“PEFC is the world’s largest forest certification scheme, it is now in more than 52 countries and certifies more than 300 million hectares of defined forest area.”
“With such a large foot print, PEFC certification covers more than two thirds of all global certified forests,” Mr Ross said.
“And that ‘trust mark’ is crucial for New Zealand wood processing market where timber importers and exporters are increasingly requesting it as
Last month Responsible Wood’s Simon Dorries, CEO, and Jason Ross, Marketing and Communications Officer, travelled to New Zealand to announce progress ahead of the historic Trans-Tasman forestry standard.
Responsible Wood is working with the New Zealand Forest Certification Association, the National Governing Body for New Zealand forest certification, Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand to develop the inaugural joint Australia and New Zealand standard for sustainable forest management.
For more information about Responsible Wood Sustainable Forest Management, Chain of Custody for Forest Products or Responsible Wood certification more generally please contact Responsible Wood or visit the Responsible Wood website.
