Double certification on the rise, joint PEFC/FSC data shows
PEFC and FSC have agreed to jointly collect and publish data on double certification, starting from 2016 onwards.
More than 69 million hectares (or 16%) of all certified forests globally are double certified to both PEFC and FSC. This is an increase of 30 million hectares compared to data collected by PEFC in 2012.
Double certification exists because foresters in different parts of the world have chosen to use both PEFC and FSC certification for their forest management units to prove their sustainable forest management practices.
As their respective certified forest area appears in both the PEFC and the FSC statistics, this has led to inflated numbers of the total global certified area.
PEFC and FSC therefore decided to work together to provide a more accurate and mutually agreed estimate for the total global certified area. Click Read More below for additional detail.