Slovakian and Norwegian national systems achieve PEFC re-endorsement

19 January 2016 PEFC system news

Slovakia and Norway have become the latest countries to successfully achieve PEFC re-endorsement of their national forest certification systems, verifying their continued compliance with PEFC’s globally recognized Sustainability Benchmarks. With this re-endorsement, the countries’ certified forest owners and companies can continue benefitting from the global acceptance of PEFC.

Norway, one of the 11 original national members of PEFC, was among the first to achieve PEFC endorsement of their forest certification system back in 2000. This was followed by two more successful endorsements in 2006 and 2010. Since then, more than 9.1 million hectares of forest have become PEFC certified, equaling more than three quarters of the country’s forest area.

In Slovakia, almost two-thirds of the country’s forest area, more than 1.2 million hectares, has become PEFC certified in the ten years since the system was first endorsed by PEFC. This is the second successful re-endorsement of the Slovakian certification system, with the country achieving their first re-endorsement back in 2010.

"The re-endorsement of these national forest certification systems shows both the commitment of our members to PEFC and underlines PEFC's leadership in the continuous improvement of forest certification," said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International. “We appreciate their continued commitment, as well as the vital contributions of stakeholder who have participated in the standards revision and assessment processes.”

PEFC International is the only global forest certification system to limit endorsements of national systems to five years, requiring standards revisions before a system can re-apply for endorsement. Endorsement is only granted after a comprehensive, third-party assessment of compliance with PEFC’s Sustainability Benchmarks.

Revisions are required to ensure that latest scientific research, practical experiences and best practices from the field, but also evolving values, expectations, and aspirations of society towards sustainable forest management are systematically incorporated in these revisions and then implemented at national, regional and local level.