PEFC announces side events for Forest Certification Week

7 November 2013 PEFC Stakeholder Dialogue

This year PEFC invited organizations to host side events during PEFC Forest Certification Week 2013, taking place next week in the Istana hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

These side events are an opportunity for individuals or groups to bring together a range of stakeholders to focus on a specific area of interest in the format of their choice. Taking place on Friday 15 November as part of the PEFC Stakeholder Dialogue, the side events will take advantage of the expertise and knowledge of the more than 250 people attending PEFC Forest Certification Week 2013.

The Events

Mid-Morning Session: 9:00-10:30

Update on Proposed Changes to United States Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood – CARB & EPA – Producers of composite wood and plywood panels, fabricators using those panels and those involved in the selling of those products into the United States need to be aware of significant new changes coming to the laws that regulate formaldehyde emissions. This session will briefly explain the current rules and provide an update on the changes coming.

Launching Event: PEFC’s Toolkit for Developing National Certification Systems – The launch of a step-by-step guide to establishing a national forest certification system aligned with PEFC’s globally recognized sustainability benchmark requirements. This new publication addresses the needs of the many organizations currently striving to establish a system, and will form the backdrop for PEFC’s expanded support service.

Common legality framework for assessing legality of forestry operations, timber processing and trade - TRAFFIC will outline the WWF-GFTN/TRAFFIC Common and National Legality Frameworks, why the tool has been developed, and why governments and other stakeholders are using it to support responsible forestry and trade.

Late Morning Session: 11:00-12:30

Practitioners’ Workshop: Developing National Certification Systems - This technical workshop is specifically tailored to support organizations actively pursuing certification system development. The workshop will enable practitioners to share experiences and find solutions for their individual challenges in developing certification systems.

Plantation forests: Distinct Approaches and Trends - This event shall demonstrate how the Brazilian forest sector is coping with the paradigm shift and trends where company’s concerns and commitments shall transcend profits values and seek engagement, social development, innovation, technologies, dialogues and environmental responsibility.

Increasing the commitment of private forest owners to PEFC - For PEFC it is vital to keep forest owners certified and find new ways to engage them. This workshop will look at how PEFC members can to do more and think together on how to engage, mobilize and communicate more effectively with forest owner stakeholders towards the common goal of promoting and strengthening the PEFC Brand.

Afternoon Session: 14:00-16:00

FLEGT & Certification – building more synergies - This workshop will introduce and present the principles of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS). The presentation will build on earlier discussions into how certifications including PEFC and FSC schemes relate to VPA TLAS and can be mutually reinforcing.

Agroforestry & Smallholder Certification: Innovation in Asia - PEFC and partners are currently running a series of pilot projects across the Asia region to innovate potential solutions to address agroforestry and support the expansion of smallholder group certification. This workshop will bring together partners to highlight experiences to date, share experiences across countries and foster a discussion amongst the audience on potential ways forward to advance certification.

Cross Laminated Timber: Providing Opportunities for PEFC Project Certification - As much of the CLT material is PEFC-certified, there is a great opportunity to expand project certification to the construction sector. This workshop will share experiences about PEFC project certification to date and discuss the potential for expanding it globally.