About PEFC
- What does PEFC stand for and what does PEFC want to achieve?
- Why PEFC was established
- How does PEFC help forests and people?
- What are the PEFC's safeguard mechanisms?
- What is KCA(Kimberly Clark Australia)'s audit number?
- Are all KCA(Kimberly Clark Australia)'s tissue products from sustainable forests?
1. What does PEFC stand for and what does PEFC want to achieve?
PEFC's aim is to assure that the world's forests are managed sustainably and that their functions are protected for present and future generations.
PEFC certified timber and paper products are an independently verified assurance to consumers and companies that they are buying wood products from sustainably managed forests. By choosing PEFC, buyers can help combat illegal logging. PEFC's role, as an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, is to secure that the same high standards are applied by all its endorsed certification systems globally and thus by forest managers, paper and timber companies and the independent, qualified third-party auditors and certifiers.
2. Why was PEFC established?
Forest certification grew out of concerns for the preservation of tropical forests and as a proactive alternative to timber boycotts.
It developed as a result of the UN "Earth Summit" in Rio in 1992, where the concept of "sustainable development" was established as a common goal of human development. Difficulties of the first developed certification systems to address the needs of family forest owners in Europe, led to the establishment of PEFC as a system to encompass all types of forests, from small family owned businesses to large multinational corporations. At their inaugural meeting in Paris in 1999, the 11 founding countries of the PEFC Council agreed to base PEFC certification on the criteria for sustainable forest management, which have come out of the Rio "Earth Summit" and its follow-up intergovernmental processes.
3. How does PEFC help forests and people?
A. PEFC is a solution to address the global problem of illegal logging
PEFC timber and paper companies around the world buy wood from certified and uncertified forests. In the case of wood from PEFC certified forests, the independent certifiers not only guarantee its legality but additionally give the assurance that the wood comes from forest management, which is ecologically, socially and economically sustainable. The legality of uncertified wood, which timber and paper companies also buy, is assured through a safeguard mechanism, which is part of PEFC Chain of Custody standard.
B. PEFC protects the rights of indigenous people
PEFC uses the criteria of the intergovernmental processes which grew out of the UN "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janeiro, such as the "Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe" or the "African Timber Organization (ATO) and International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) Criteria & Indicator for sustainable management of African natural tropical forests". The criteria address people's land tenure, customary and traditional rights; protect historical, archaeological, cultural or spiritually significant sites; make use of indigenous related experience or knowledge and involve indigenous people and their communities in the consultation, decision making and implementation processes of PEFC. At national level indigenous people can participate when PEFC certification systems are being developed or updated in consensus with other groups of society. Last but not least, PEFC requires consultation with the public during the certification audits of individual forests, ensuring that indigenous and other forest dependent people's views are considered for the forests they live in, live near to or are dependent upon. PEFC has published a Position Paper on "Tribal and Indigenous people, local people, local communities, forest dependent communities and the PEFC Council" at www.pefc.org
C. PEFC safeguards communities', workers' and local people's rights
PEFC incorporates social issues through a range of international and national agreements, such as the (?Rio Earth Summit?) intergovernmental processes and their Operational Level Guidelines (e.g. the PEOLG of the MCPFE).
The PEOLG as used by PEFC demand that:
- Forest management planning shall aim to maintain or increase forest and other wooded area, and enhance the quality of the economic, ecological, cultural and social values of forest resources, including soil and water. This shall be done by making full use of related services such as land-use planning and nature conservation.
- Appropriate silvicultural measures shall be taken to maintain the growing stock of resources at - or bring to - a level that is economically, ecologically and socially desirable.
- Conversion of abandoned agricultural and treeless land into forest land shall be taken into consideration, whenever it can add economic, ecological, social and/or cultural value.
- Areas that fulfil specific and recognised protective functions for society shall be registered and mapped, and forest management plans or their equivalents shall take full account of these areas
- Forest management planning shall aim to respect the multiple functions of forests to society, have due regard to the role of forestry in rural development, and especially consider new opportunities for employment in connection with the socio-economic functions of forests.
- Working conditions shall be safe, and guidance and training in safe working practice shall be provided.
- Forest management operations shall take into account all socio-economic functions, especially the recreational function and aesthetic values of forests by maintaining for example varied forest structures, and by encouraging attractive trees, groves and other features such as colours, flowers and fruits. This shall be done, however, in a way and to an extent that does not lead to serious negative effects on forest resources, and forest land.
D. Social and environmental groups participate in PEFC's decision making
All PEFC endorsed certification systems have a national forum or organisation, in which all interested parties can participate, e.g. environmental and social non-governmental organisations, trade unions, indigenous people, forest owners etc.
The forum's decisions are based on the principle of consensus. The PEFC Council Board of Directors is constituted to reflect an appropriate diversity of stakeholder interests (including representatives from social and environmental organisations), of geographic regions and size of country and of gender.
4. What are the PEFC's safeguard mechanisms?
A. The logo indicates that the products contains at least 70% certified material
Only products which contain at least 70% Forest Management certified material can be labelled with the PEFC logo. This is the highest minimum level set by any international forest certification system for the use of its label.
B. Only timber and paper products from PEFC endorsed systems can be traded and labelled with the PEFC logo
Only national forest certification systems, which have successfully gone through the stringent PEFC endorsement process, can use the PEFC logo on and for their certified products.
C. PEFC assures that the uncertified content in PEFC certified products does not originate from illegal logging (controversial sources)
To help prevent wood from controversial sources and illegal logging finding its way into timber and paper products, PEFC has put in place a number of safeguards for the "Avoidance of (wood from) Controversial Sources".
PEFC certified companies who, in addition to certified material, also procure non-PEFC certified wood, have the obligation to put in place safety checks such as risk analyses, external assessments and on-site inspections, to ensure the legality of the uncertified wood. The scope and the intensity of the checks depend on the risk of procuring timber from illegal harvesting. Certified material from other certification systems, such as FSC, is considered as not requiring further checks. Whenever companies and consumers buy PEFC certified paper and timber products, they have the assurance that the purchased product does not contain illegally logged wood. Both the certified and the uncertified content have been checked by certifiers and suppliers before them.
D. PEFC certification is based on several hundred very detailed criteria
PEFC uses at its basis the 8 intergovernmental processes for sustainable forest management which grew out of the United Nations "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 as the foundation for its national standards. These processes are supported by 149 governments in the world covering 85% of the world's forest area. Together with international conventions on social and ecological issues, such as the International Labour Organization Core Conventions (e.g. against child and forced labour and for equal remuneration), ISO Guidelines, the Convention on Biological Diversity and other international treaties, there are up to 305 criteria, on which PEFC is based and which are used to measure the quality and credibility of national forest certification system during the PEFC endorsement process.
E. PEFC certified forests and certified companies are inspected annually
The independent certifiers for PEFC certifications undertake yearly surveillance audits and a full re-assessment of the certificate holders is carried out every five years.
5. What is KCA(Kimberly Clark Australia)'s audit number?
PEFC/21-31-18
6. Are all KCA(Kimberly Clark Australia)'s tissue products from sustainable forests?
Yes, Kleenex® Cottonelle® Toilet Tissue, Wondersoft® Toilet Tissue, Kleenex® Facial Tissues as well as Viva® Paper Towel.
