Complaints from NGOs have prompted the government to put on hold the decision about whether the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) meet its definition of sustainable forest management.
Last November the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs‘ (Defra) Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) said the Forest Stewardship Council and Canadian Standards Association met its requirements but that PEFC and SFI only provided evidence of legal and not sustainable timber.
PEFC has since changed its regulations to meet CPET’s criteria and was expecting a positive decision soon. The PEFC council had not been informed of the hold up at the time of going to press and therefore felt unable to comment.
A Defra spokesperson said: “We think it is reasonable to discuss the NGOs’ issues with them before we make a decision and a statement will be made shortly.”
Meanwhile the Timber Trade Federation (TTF) has described the hold-up as “an unwelcome development”, adding: “It interrupts the proper independent assessment process and sends out confusing market signals”.
TTF chief executive John White said: “The NGOs are still saying that their well-documented concerns about the inclusion of social criteria should be recognised and secondly, in the case of PEFC, the changes they have made should be fully implemented before any announcement is made.”
The TTF has pressed the government to clarify the position to remove confusion among customers.
