What is certification?

Forest certification is a powerful tool to demonstrate and promote sustainable practices throughout the forest-based supply chain. It enables forest owners, companies, and consumers to verify that forest and tree-based products come from sustainably managed forests, respecting ecological, social, and economic values.

At PEFC, certification lies at the heart of our mission: connecting responsible forest management with responsible sourcing and consumption.

A little history

Forest certification emerged following the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Brazil, which introduced the concept of “sustainable development” and underscored the crucial role of forests for both life and economic development. As global consensus on how to manage forests sustainably proved elusive, certification was developed as a market-based solution to promote and verify responsible forest management practices.

PEFC’s founding and mission

PEFC was founded in 1999 to meet the unique needs of small- and family-forest owners who were unable to access existing certification systems. Today, PEFC is the world’s leading forest certification system and the certification of choice for smallholders around the globe. Through our bottom-up, inclusive approach, we empower local stakeholders to develop national standards tailored to their specific forest ecosystems, legal frameworks, and socio-economic conditions.

Forest management certification

Forest management certification ensures that forests are managed in line with strict environmental, social, and economic requirements. This includes protecting biodiversity, ensuring the rights of workers and Indigenous peoples, and sustaining the forest’s ability to provide timber, clean water, and other ecosystem services. Certification provides forest owners with independent verification that their management practices meet PEFC’s internationally recognised sustainability benchmarks.

Chain of custody certification

Chain of custody certification tracks certified material from the forest, through processing and manufacturing, all the way to the final product. It ensures that products carrying a PEFC label genuinely originate from certified forests and that any uncertified material has been responsibly sourced. This certification is essential for companies that want to make verified sustainable claims, improve supply chain transparency, and meet growing consumer and regulatory demand for ethical sourcing.

What forest certification delivers

Certification provides a robust framework for demonstrating sustainable forest management and responsible sourcing. It enables forest owners to credibly showcase their sustainability efforts and helps businesses and consumers make informed choices. For governments and organisations setting procurement policies, certification offers trusted proof that forest and tree-based products come from responsibly managed sources.

A local yet global framework

PEFC operates through a unique bottom-up approach. National forest certification systems are developed locally according to PEFC’s internationally recognised benchmarks and in line with the realities of each country - through multi-stakeholder processes involving forest owners, industry, civil society, and government. Once developed, these standards are rigorously assessed these benchmark requirements. This dual-level approach ensures global consistency while respecting local context and needs.