American Tree Farm System seeks PEFC re-endorsement: public consultation open

The American Tree Farm System (ATFS) has become the latest national forest certification system to seek PEFC endorsement, and stakeholders globally are invited to provide feedback on its compliance with our Sustainability Benchmarks by 7 January 2017.

ATFS is one of the oldest initiatives for certifying sustainable forestry in the world. It was first launched in 1941 as a private initiative to address concerns that America’s forests were being cut at unsustainable rates without reforestation.

It now represents 74,000 tree farmers sustainably managing more than 7.7 million hectares of PEFC-certified forestland.

ATFS first achieved PEFC endorsement back in 2005, and this latest revision of the standard will mark the fourth time the national standard has been submitted to PEFC.

Revising the standard
PEFC International ensures that national systems are revised regularly in multi-stakeholder processes by limiting the validity of endorsements to five years, after which they can apply for re-endorsement to continue benefitting from PEFC recognition.

As part of the endorsement process, PEFC seeks comments and feedback from all interested parties to ensure full compliance of the national systems with PEFC’s Sustainability Benchmark during a 60-day global public consultation.

All comments received during the global public consultation will provide valuable information for the third-party assessor in determining whether the respective national system is in compliance with international requirements.

All stakeholders are invited to use PEFC’s Online Consultation Tool to provide comments on the ATFS by 7 January 2017.
more at:  http://pefc.org/news-a-media/general-sfm-news/2298-american-tree-farm-system-seeks-pefc-re-endorsement-public-consultation-open

Related Posts

PEFC Stakeholder Dialogue set to take sustainable forest management to new levels

Forest certification is in this context a success story. As of 2019, about one-third of the wood used in products, packaging or construction is certified as originating from sustainable forest management and supply chains. PEFC, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, has been instrumental to this success. With innovations such as group certification, a mechanism that makes certification accessible to small- and family forest owners, PEFC has expanded the accessibility of certification. Today about one million forest owners have obtained PEFC certification. With its latest sustainable forest management standard, PEFC expanded the scope of certification to include Trees outside Forests, extending the impact of PEFC certification beyond the boundaries of the forest. This innovation can make PEFC certification practical and affordable to farmers or other land managers, who are often growing trees as just one of their many crops.

Paper Recycling Rates Remain High as Bills Target Producer Responsibility

In a time of renewed emphasis on reducing waste, paper recycling rates for products and packaging set the industry apart. Many states have introduced legislation, called extended producer responsibility bills, that target how consumer products are disposed after use. Several of these proposals aim to make producers responsible for managing the disposal of various goods in an effort to keep them out of landfills. Examples include mattresses, plastic packaging, chemicals, electronics and more. Paper-based packaging has been included in some proposals, but the good news is paper recycling rates are already high. Even during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, which saw an increase in single-use everything, 65.7 percent of paper consumed in the United States was recycled, according to research by the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA).

HH Global Renews and Improves Ecovadis Gold Status

HH Global is delighted to announce the renewal of our EcoVadis Gold Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) status in recognition of sustainability achievements. As well as renewing EcoVadis Gold for 2020, HH Global’s overall score also increased by one point to a total of 67. This places HH Global within the top five percent of companies that are evaluated by EcoVadis globally, and strongly demonstrates a continued commitment to sustainability. “We are delighted to renew and improve our EcoVadis Gold status” stated Kevin Dunckley, HH Global Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer. “The business is growing quickly and our improved score is testament to our global commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement strategy. We have also set ambitious Science Based Targets in 2020, and will shortly be releasing our latest Sustainability Report which will contain further details of our achievements and ambitions”
Back To Top
×Close search
Search