Natural Resources Wales offers buyers of timber and other forest products supplied directly from Natural Resources Wales forests the option of displaying the logo of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC), or the logo of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
These logos provide an assurance that the products originate from well managed forests.
The Forestry Commission has used FSC certification since 1999, when it became the first state forest service in the world to achieve certification of its entire forest holding. Natural Resources Wales goes through a re-certification process every 5 years.
Hugh Jones Head of Wales Harvesting and Marketing explained:
"FSC certification has served us well for 11 years. It is used by most of the major buyers of our forest products, and we shall continue to use it. In common with other enterprises selling timber across Europe, we are aware that a number of buyers of timber and other forest products are looking for PEFC certification and, in some cases, both PEFC and FSC certification.
This is particularly so in the case of overseas buyers of UK timber, and we would like to have the flexibility to meet the needs of all of our customers. Both schemes use the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) as the basis for certification in the UK, and both are recognised by the Government's Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) as providing suitable evidence of legality and sustainability for public-sector timber procurement purposes."
The Forestry Commission received PEFC certification for the first time on 9 March 2010. For further information about CPET, visit www.cpet.org.uk
Should you wish to know more about please don’t hesitate to contact Hugh Jones>
Other useful information is available at: PEFC and FSC.