Top marks for PEFC International in Dutch timber procurement assessment

20 July 2020 PEFC system news

PEFC International meets all Dutch procurement criteria for timber. This is the conclusion of the Dutch Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC), that gave full marks to PEFC International.

TPAC assesses certification systems for compliance with the sustainable procurement policy of the Dutch government. Following the assessment, TPAC has recommended the Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment to continue the approval and acceptance of PEFC with regards to the Dutch procurement policy.

The judgement was preceded by a detailed review procedure, involving stakeholders through an online forum.

"TPAC undertakes one of the most rigorous assessments of forest certification systems globally. The results demonstrate how far PEFC has come over the past twenty years and confirms the ongoing quality and robustness of our standards,” said Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC International.

Top marks for PEFC

To gain insight in how the PEFC standards and protocols are translated into practice, TPAC also looked at the PEFC national systems for Indonesia, Russia, Gabon and the Netherlands, concluding that all of them complied with the Dutch criteria.

“TPAC assessed all relevant system documents of PEFC International and then additionally four national PEFC systems as an indication of the performance of PEFC, as an assessor and endorser of national systems in practice,” said Bernd Slesazeck, Secretary of TPAC.

“Our conclusion is that PEFC International conforms to the Dutch Procurement Criteria for the Dutch market.”

TPAC assessed PEFC International against the criteria ‘Sustainable Forest Management’, ‘Chain of Custody’ and ‘Development, Application and Management of Certification System’. The functioning of PEFC International as an umbrella system also formed part of the assessment.

“What makes us particularly delighted is that our most recent standards, published over the course of the past 18 month, were considered in full by TPAC,” said Ben Gunneberg. “The findings send an important signal to the market place and to stakeholders globally that the current PEFC standards are performing well.”

“Importantly, however, is that we will continue to progress and improve. Sustainable forest management is not an absolute concept, but it evolves over time with new knowledge of best practice informed by science, and it differs from country to country,” emphasized Mr. Gunneberg. “We remain committed to continue to deliver our best in sustainable forest management – globally and locally.”