PEFC / FSC

Every day, around 550 million sqm of rainforest are cleared - for tropical wood, paper, conversion into oil palm or soya plantations, cattle pastures, for the exploitation of mineral resources such as iron ore, gold, oil or gas or for the construction of large dams. More and more people now want to do something about to stop this. One way is to consume PEFC™ and FSC® certified products. We can offer both certifications.

The range of certifiable products is wide: from paper and printed products to packaging and furniture. And new niche products also regularly appear. "We recently certified textile fibres according to FSC for the first time," says Renata Petric, deputy technical manager of FSC® and senior auditor of FSC® and PEFC™ at TÜV NORD CERT. "This topic is becoming more and more important worldwide. In partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the "Forests for Fashion" initiative combines materials from sustainably managed forests with the world of fashion. There was even an exhibition of forest fashion at the United Nations headquarters in New York in July 2018.

We have currently issued around 1,000 FSC® certificates to our customers worldwide. Of these, around 250 were issued in Germany and around 380 under the national subsidiary TÜV Croatia in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Serbia. The rest were issued by various subsidiaries worldwide. One country that has seen strong growth is Bulgaria. The company did not have a single customer in 2016, but today - only three years later - it has around 180 customers. For the year 2020 Bulgaria would therefore like to offer an international exchange of experience on FSC®. The staff in Bulgaria also look after many other countries including Morocco and Macedonia. Because the market exists worldwide, explains Eric Krupp, Head of PC Sustainability at TÜV NORD CERT: "FSC® CoC or PEFC™ FM/CoC certification is not only an option in countries where there are large forests. Some countries - as is the case with Morocco - buy large quantities of paper from other countries such as Norway and Sweden for use in the production of cartons and packaging for the European market.

TÜV NORD is accredited for PEFC™ FM/CoC and FSC® CoC. At PEFC™ and FSC® we offer "Chain of Custody" product chain certification, which confirms a closed supply chain from the producer through the intermediary to the end consumer. This enables our certified customers to label wood, wood products and paper or printed matter whose raw materials come from responsibly managed forests or other controlled sources. TÜV NORD also offers forest certification in accordance with PEFC™, including the special areas of "recreational forests" and "Christmas trees". "We do not yet offer forest certification according to FSC® (Forest Management Certification), but innovation and accreditation applications have been prepared. If you see a need for this certification in your country, feel free to contact us", says Eric Krupp.

"The market is there and as long as the mass of products in the trade remains the same, the demand for certifications will also remain stable," explains Eric Krupp. "The start is not easy. Without investment and the will to put time and energy in the project, it is unlikely to work. It takes a certain mass to generate a surplus and spread them across many processes. But if you really want it, you are welcome to get support from us. In this case, please contact us at an early stage. Because quality always starts with the right beginning. It has been shown that it is much easier to set up the project together from the start and develop a strategy together. For the initial period, we can also place auditors in China, Taiwan, the Middle East, Brazil and Turkey. And if it works, FSC® is a great and rewarding service.

For this purpose, a brochure is being developed in which all services in the area of climate protection/sustainability are listed. It will be available from the end of May and can be downloaded on the TÜV NORD CERT website or obtained from Narin Ufak (nufak@tuev-nord.de).