Media News Bulletin from
PEFC Asia Pacific
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PEFC call to COP26 Leaders:
Tackle Climate Change & Deforestation with Sustainable Forest Management
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At COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland last month, PEFC called on world leaders to recognise the crucial contribution of forests in tackling climate change. “PEFC, as the world’s leading forest certification system, is therefore an important part in the toolbox needed to fight climate change, by promoting the sustainable management of the world’s forests and the use of wood products as a renewable raw material,” says Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Land highlights this important dual role of forests as both carbon sinks and providers of renewable resources that can replace fossil fuel intensive materials. Read more.
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Malaysia's Commitment to Sustainable Forest Benchmarks |
In the virtual PEFC Award Ceremony at the 26th PEFC General Assembly, Malaysian Timber Certification Council
(MTTC) received the certificate for the maintenance of endorsement of the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). "This recognition facilitates local companies certified under the MTCS to respond to the increased awareness for sustainability and the demands for improved transparency and governance and in so doing, continue to enjoy the perks of certification such as access to the global markets.” MTCC CEO, Siti Syaliza Mustapha dedicated the achievement to MTCC’s stakeholders and staff for their vigorous commitment in ensuring that the MTCS continues to meet PEFC’s strict international sustainability benchmarks, particularly amidst the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Read More.
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New Zealand Forestry Innovation Hub Wins WAF-PEFC Prize |
The winning project is a cutting-edge showcase for engineered timber, not only in terms of the aesthetic, but also what it contributes to a carbon-zero future. The World Architecture Festival and PEFC awarded the Best Use of Certified Timber Prize to SCION Innovation Hub by RTA Studio/Irving Smith Architects. Located at the edge of the Whakarewarewa Forest Park, Rotorua, New Zealand, SCION is a reinvention of the headquarters building of the Crown Research Institute that specialises in technology development for the forestry industry. It was chosen as the most outstanding of the eight shortlisted projects from around the world. It is also the winner of the WAF award in the category Completed Buildings - Higher Education and Research. Proudly showcasing PEFC-certified timber in a unique diagrid structure, the building requires less material than traditional mass engineered timber buildings. Read all about it.
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TaFF-PEFC Partnership for Sustainable Fashion in Singapore |
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A three-year strategic roadmap to promote fashion supply chain sustainability and responsible procurement was launched in Singapore on 30 November between the Textile and Fashion Federation (TaFF) and PEFC International. It's designed to drive greater awareness among TaFF members, partners and stakeholders of the importance of legal and sustainable sourcing of materials, like fibre from the forests, but also packaging and natural rubber used in the sector. Photo shows Minister of State Ms Low Yen Ling (on left, in turquoise) visiting the PEFC exhibit at the Sustainability Showcase at Design Orchard, Singapore. International business student Tori Chua was on hand to promote the exhibit, along with Ken Hickson, who wrote this report on the event. Read More
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Australia Achieves 40% PEFC Certified Forest Area Increase |
Every year, PEFC awards the National Governing Body (NGB) which achieves the biggest increases in PEFC-certified forest area and PEFC chain of custody certificates. The award for 2021 went to Australia, thanks to a 40% increase (that's 5 million hectares), taking the PEFC-certified forest area in Australia to over 16 million hectares. At its annual meeting in Brisbane, Responsible Wood also released a statement on Management of Australia’s Native Forests, which came at same time as the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, representing a significant milestone in defining actions to tackle the climate crisis. In announcing the 22nd Australian Timber Design Awards, Responsible Wood selected Royd Clan House (pictured), a Victorian home constructed from the remnants of an old property and its monolithic boulders, using certified Glulam and CLT throughout. Read More.
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Vietnam Rubber a "Game Changer" for Weber & Schaer |
Vietnam is one of the most important partner countries for Hans Evers, Sustainability Manager at Weber & Schaer, who told PEFC about recent developments in the rubber sector. “When we heard that the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) was looking forward to achieving PEFC certification, we decided to become chain of custody certified ourselves, to promote this certified rubber amongst our customers,” Mr Evers said in an interview for the PEFC series "Meeting our Certified Companies". He saw this development as a game changer, because right now demand for certified dry natural rubber outstrips supply. VRG’s certification, and the high-quality certified dry natural rubber that will come onto the marketplace as a result, helped trigger Weber & Schaer’s decision. Read More.
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Progress on India's Trees Outside Forests Certification
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PEFC, as the world’s largest forest certification organisation, has commenced the process of endorsement of India's Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF) for its Trees Outside Forests (TOF) Certification Standard. This was launched at an international public consultation webinar on September 2021 and the 60 days’ Public consultation ran until 25 November 2021. Through encouraging the planting of trees and improved management of TOF in ways that optimise their social, environmental and economic contributions, PEFC believes it can promote an additional natural solution to climate mitigation within forest certification. It also complements land-use impact, potentially increasing the supply of wood and forest products, as a renewable and environmentally friendly material, to a growing global population. For background, go to the recording of the consultation meeting on PEFC’s YouTube channel.
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Indonesia's Forest Positive & Chain of Custody Training |
Indonesia's webinar in November encouraged brand owners and retailers to better understand the full pathway between the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Roadmap, certification requirements, and on the ground audits. All to do with Forest Positive Action.The CGF Forest Positive Coalition released their Pulp, Paper and Fibre-based Packaging (PPP) Roadmap earlier this year. IT aims to guide Coalition members in their efforts to remove deforestation and conversion from PPP supply chains.Indonesia also conducted PEFC-IFCC Chain of Custody Initial Training for auditors on 29-30 November and 2 December. Go to PEFC-IFCC for more.
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PEFC-Certified "Rising Sun" & "Ethical Stationery to Wear" |
PEFC-certified paper from stationery to food packaging. Japan's very popular PEFC-certified notepad RHODIA by Quo Vardis, has launched a new product called "Rising Sun”. The concept is a fusion of French esprit and Japanese culture. The product, which features a red RHODIA logo with a Japanese flag motif on the cover, is made from RHODIA's signature smooth writing comfort, premium quality paper, and environmentally friendly PEFC-certified paper. “Ethical stationery to wear”, released by Penon Penon Inc, has launched Penon,"a pen that rewrites the future of the earth” using PEFC certified materials. See more at SGEC Japan.
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Unlocking PEFC Chain of Custody Certification for Furniture |
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Companies which manufacture, trade, and sell wood and wooden furniture are invited to this exclusive two-day webinar on 9-10 December about PEFC chain of custody certification. Experts will provide a detailed introduction to the PEFC chain of custody management system requirements, as well as the chain of custody methods. It also takes a close look at the PEFC label – how and why you should use it. This webinar is designed specifically for actors in the wooden furniture supply chain, from manufacturers and traders to retailers. If you are thinking about gaining PEFC certification for your business, then this webinar is for you. Even if you are already certified, but would like to know more about PEFC, or as a retailer, you want to know how procuring and selling PEFC-certified products can benefit your business, register for this webinar.
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If you need more information/images on any of the items above, or any other work by PEFC in Asia Pacific, feel free to contact:
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