Strengthening PEFC and our network – now and for the future…

4 May 2017 News

A range of training activities, dialogues concerning the ongoing standards revision process, and the development of our next strategy were at the top of the agenda as our members headed to Geneva for the annual PEFC Members Meeting last week.

The PEFC Members Meeting is the chance for the whole PEFC alliance to meet up, discuss key issues, get valuable updates and share their experiences. Designed as an internal meeting by and for PEFC members, it complements the PEFC Forest Certification Week with its General Assembly and the Stakeholder Dialogue, the "must attend" annual event for everybody interested in sustainable forest management.

“It was excellent to welcome so many of our members to Geneva for this year’s meeting,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International.

“This meeting is so important, not only to give our members updates, but also to get their input and feedback – especially this year as we revise both our international standards and our global strategy.”

Training also on the agenda

This year our members got to choose from a range of training opportunities: from learning how to create videos for social media to role playing responses to the challenging questions they may face.

“I found it both very interesting and fun that within just a couple of hours of training you are already on your way to developing video-making skills, and doing so without the need of expensive equipment,” said Huib van Veen, PEFC Netherlands, following the video for social media training session.

We also held our regular training session to improve and enhance our members’ ability to use our extranet – covering both basic and more advanced aspects of using the system.

The next meeting…

The next time the whole PEFC alliance will be together is for PEFC Forest Certification Week 2017 in Helsinki, Finland. Taking place from 13-17 November, the event will include the PEFC Stakeholder Dialogue, which is also open to the public. We hope to see you there!

Keep an eye on our website and sign up for our newsletter to stay fully updated on all PEFC Week announcements!