Belarusian Forest Certification System open for public consultation
Stakeholders globally are invited to provide feedback on its compliance with PEFC International's Sustainability Benchmarks.
Belarusian Forest Certification System open for public consultation
7 May 2015 PEFC system news
The Belarusian Forest Certification System is the latest system to seek PEFC re-endorsement for the first time and stakeholders globally are invited to provide feedback on its compliance with PEFC International's Sustainability Benchmarks by 6 July 2015.
The Republican Association of Forest Certification System, PEFC’s National member for Belarus, first achieved endorsement of its national system in 2010. Since then, almost nine million hectares of Belarusian forests have been PEFC-certified – equating to virtually all of the country’s forests.
As part of the endorsement process, PEFC seeks comments and feedback from all interested parties to ensure full compliance of the national system with PEFC's Sustainability Benchmark during a 60-day global public consultation.
"PEFC has arguably the most rigorous assessment process for national certification systems seeking recognition at international level," said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC International Secretary General, "The consultation period is a vital part of the assessment process of all national systems that are seeking endorsement or re-endorsement by PEFC."
All comments received during the global public consultation will provide valuable information for the third-party assessor in determining whether the Belarusian Forest Certification System is in compliance with international requirements.
Interested stakeholders are invited to use PEFC's Online Consultation Tool to provide comments on the Belarusian Forest Certification System by 6 July 2015.