Labels promote sustainable forest management, consumers agree

10 November 2017 News

As politicians and activists gather for the COP23 Bonn climate talks, people are wondering what they can do to help avert the climate catastrophe.

One simple action is to look out for the PEFC label on everyday products, something that 53% of all consumers already do at least sometimes, according to a recent YouGov survey.

"Forests and trees are a cornerstone of addressing climate change, as are products made of wood - if they originate from sustainably managed forests," explains Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International.

"Consumers can easily identify such products through the PEFC label, which is exclusively available for products coming from certified, healthy forests."

Forest certification plays a key role

Consumers agree that forest certification plays a key role in safeguarding our forests. The YouGov survey found that more than 2/3 of consumers globally believe that forest certification labels are important in promoting sustainable forest management.

PEFC, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, is the world’s leading forest certification system. The organization sets standards for sustainable forest management.

Globally, hundreds of thousands of forest owners – smallholders, communities, public authorities and companies – have their responsible forest management practices certified to PEFC. Tens of thousands of companies around the world manufacture PEFC-certified products.

Consumers can help!

"The role of consumers in helping us protect forests through the straightforward act of opting for a PEFC-certified product cannot be underestimated," highlights Mr. Gunneberg.

"I am excited about the fact that more than half of all consumers already do so."

So what you can do to help? Next time you’re shopping, whether it’s for new furniture, tools for the garden, paper, or just the weekly food shop, make sure you look for the PEFC label!

Editors section

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 21,194 adults from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA.

Fieldwork was undertaken between 8 June - 12 July. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been given an even weighting for each country to produce an ‘average’ value.