Why Certified Wood is Better

We hear of certain parts of the world where wood is illegally harvested or where sustainable forest management is unknown, but how do we know if the wood or wood products produced here are sourced from sustainably managed forests?

Locally, standards and processes are in place for Australian forest owners and forest product producers to certify their products and processes under Australian Forestry Standard Certification Scheme (AFCS) and so provide the sustainability credentials for products made from wood sourced from certified forests, both native and plantation.

Australian Forestry Standard Limited (AFS Ltd) is a not-for-profit company which promotes sustainable forest management of Australia’s forests through Australian Standard 4708 (known as The Australian Forestry Standard). The standard can be applied to any forest tenure, public or private and for any size of forest holding.

AFS Ltd is also the Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) National Governing Body for Australia and the Australian Forest Certification Scheme has been endorsed by the PEFC. Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) entails the management of forests to maintain their full range of environmental, social and economic values.

Membership of AFS is open to individuals or companies that support these objects as set out in the company’s constitution. Members include forest growers, primary processors, supply chain members, employee representative organisations and other communities.

AFCS standards cover forest management and product tracking through the supply chain to the end consumer. Standards are regularly reviewed and updated. Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard [AS 4707] is utilised to track timber as it moves through phases of primary or secondary processing and manufacturing to its final consumption. Once their forests are certified, the forest owner or manager can supply accredited products.

For more information see www.forestrystandard.org.au