More than 200 stakeholders have participated in Responsible Wood workshops and meetings, launching the new AS / NZS 4708:2021 standard for Sustainable Forest Management both in Australia and New Zealand.
Sustainability Manager Matt de Jongh has spent a week in Victoria and Mount Gambier, SA, following a series of workshops and meetings in Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand.
In December 2021, Responsible Wood published the latest version of the AS/NZS 4708:2021 Standard for Sustainable Forest Management requirements.
Click here to register your details and download the new standard.
Please contact Responsible Wood who can provide a printed copy of the standard for the cost of print, postage and handling.
Updated and reviewed by Responsible Wood every five years, the Standard has been approved for publication following revision by the AS / NZS 4708 Standards Reference Committee and Working Group chaired by Dr Gordon Duff.
To date, more than 200 stakeholders have now downloaded a copy of the standard from the Responsible Wood website.
“It is important to communicate with certificate holders on the key changes to the new standard and that there is a two-year transition period,” Mr de Jongh said.
“These workshops and meetings are an opportunity for certificate holders to better understand the new standard … but also allow them important discussions that generate many questions and answers,” he said.
“The website is a reference point for certificate holders and will be updated as new information becomes available.”
Mr de Jongh said certificate holders were also encouraged to refer to the ‘transition policy’ for the new standard, which could be found at www.responsiblewood.org.au/resources/
Certificate holders have until March 10, 2024, to transition to the new standard.
With more than 18 million ha of Australian forests certified, the Responsible Wood scheme covers 90% of commercial forests. In addition, PEFC certification covers more than 280 million ha of global forests and is the largest forest certification system in the world.
More than 20,000 companies have obtained PEFC chain-of-custody certification, demonstrating a commitment to responsible sourcing of certified products.
For more information about the Australian and New Zealand Standard for Sustainable Forest Management please contact: Responsible Wood on 07 3359 1758 or email [email protected]
NOTES
Responsible Wood is a Standards Development Organisation (SDO) and a not-for-profit public company registered in July 2003. Previously known as the Australian Forestry Standard Limited, the company is one of five SDO’s accredited through the Standards Development and Accreditation Committee (SDAC) of Standards Australia and owns the standard development functions and manages elements of the Responsible Wood Certification Scheme. The Responsible Wood Certification Scheme (RWCS)
Caption 1: Victorian workshop attendees, left to right: Deepanwita Panda of OpalANZ, Matt de Jongh of Responsible Wood), Nicholas Veale of Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, Steven Fox of Midway, Ana Goncalves of VicForests, Deborah Kerr of Victorian – Australian Forest Products Association, Peter Evgenias of Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, Nick Broomhall of VicForests and Julia Bertuol-Dias of OpalANZ.
Caption 2: South Australian workshop attendees, left to right: Matt de Jongh of Responsible Wood, Gerald Harvey and Jai Yi of SFMES, Neil Winkley of PF Olsen, Jacqui Doloughan of GTFP, Greg Kenny and Suzanne Crowe of Borg Manufacturing, Vicki Charlton and Janeth Mackenzie of OneFortyOne Plantations, Emma-Kate Griffiths of TPPL, Roland Freyer of Southwest Fibre and Jim O’Hehir of the University of South Australia.
Feature Image: ForestrySA Ranger Kieran Gosden describing the ForestrySA biodiversity corridor in the background, adjacent to a OneFortyOne pine plantation near Mount Gambier to Responsible Wood Sustainability Manager Matt de Jongh, Cameron Shaw and Janeth Mackenzie of OneFortyOne Plantations.
