UK Certification Scheme for Sustainable Forest Management received international endorsement on the 6th March 2002 by the PEFC Council, the internationally recognized umbrella for national forest certification schemes, following an 8-month rigorous assessment process.

Welcome

This website is managed by the PEFC United Kingdom National Scheme. It is designed to support and aid all the activities of PEFC UK.

The aim of this site is to assist you in finding out more about PEFC, both internationally and in the UK.

The site also offers links to key information both for Sustainable Forest Management and Chain of Custody. Links can be used to find out about the companies who have Chain of Custody Certification and the forests which are certified.

Sustainable Forest Management in the UK

The UK Certification Scheme for Sustainable Forest Management is currently undergoing a major revision and will be submitted to the PEFC Council for re-endorsement, in early 2008. This process will adopt the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) as the model for forest management standards in the UK.

UKWAS has been developed by a partnership of forestry, social and environmental organisations. It is recognised by international forest certification schemes, including PEFC, which means that wood products from UKWAS certified forests can carry the label of one of these schemes, if the rules of the individual scheme have been met.

To read the current draft of the revision in full by going to the UK News section of this site, the article can be found under the heading "Your opportunity to comment on the PEFC UK Scheme." We welcome comments and observations which interested parties may wish to make on the Scheme and these can be forwarded to us through the contact us section.

Chain of Custody

There are now over 1000 PEFC Chain of Custody Certificates in the UK and the number is continually growing, due to the ever increasing market demand for PEFC certified timber and timber products.

Chain of Custody certification is awarded by accredited certification bodies and details of the ones who operate in the UK can be found in the chain of custody section.