In recent years there’s been a huge increase in public and corporate interest in environmental issues. Nowhere is this more evident than the move towards certifying timber and timber products to demonstrate that they come from sustainable and properly managed sources. Most industry sectors now recognize the need and benefit of sourcing sustainably managed timber and timber products, whether it be for furniture, building materials or paper and packaging products..

Forest management certification is the first link in the chain and involves the inspection of forest management processes by a recognized, independent certification body who determines whether the forest is managed according to an agreed set of standards. If the forest complies, then an operating certificate is issued. Certified forest operations can then claim that their timber comes from responsibly managed forest.

Chain-of-custody is the unbroken path taken by that timber, from the forest to the consumer, including every stage of processing, manufacturing and distribution. It provides evidence that timber products originate from certified, well managed forests and verifies that they’re not mixed with products from uncertified forests at any point in the supply chain, except under strict controls. Each stage in the chain is subject to independent scrutiny and certification and must be able to demonstrate its ability to identify and segregate material from a certified source.

Most certification is now overseen either by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC). Both are international (non governmental), not-for-profit organisations, dedicated to promoting the responsible management of the world's forests.

FSC was founded in 1993 in response to public concern about deforestation and in recognition of the need for a trustworthy wood-labelling scheme. It is supported by NGOs such as WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Woodland Trust. It believes in “meeting the needs of today without risking the needs of future generations” and considers social, economic and environmental needs to be of equal importance. More than 90 million hectares of forest worldwide is certified to FSC standards. For more information go to http://www.fsc.org 

PEFC was founded in 1999 by 11 European countries. It shares many of FSC’s aims and goals but its approach has been slightly different, becoming instead a “global umbrella” for the assessment and mutual recognition of at least 30 national schemes worldwide and accounting for nearly 200 million hectares of certified forestry. For more information go to http://www.pefc.co.uk 

We have both FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certification and can now offer chain of custody certified sheet stock, reel stock and mill makings.

Now that we can supply you with CoC certified product, you have the opportunity to extend the custody chain to your customer by gaining FSC / PEFC certification yourselves. For more information and advice, contact David Whitaker at our Leicester office or by email to david.whitaker@warrenboard.co.uk