KEY ISSUES: SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT
Certification
A3P encourages its members to seek independent sustainable forest management certification or chain of custody certification to demonstrate the sustainability aspects of their forest management to governments, citizens and the marketplace.
A3P's Sustainability Action Plan includes a commitment to increasing levels of forest certification to 70 per cent of members and 70 per cent of hectares by 2015.
The main sustainable forest management schemes globally are The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The PEFC includes the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS).
Australian Forestry Standard
The Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) is a formal management standard of the Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFCS), which certifies extensive areas of native forests and plantations across Australia. The AFCS includes a Chain of Custody Standard to track forest and wood products through the supply chain. This provides consumers with assurance that the forest and wood products they are purchasing are from forests which are managed to the highest possible standards. The AFS is endorsed by the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
A3P member companies certified under AFS: Forestry Plantations Queensland, Forests NSW, HVP Plantations, ForestrySA, Forest Enterprises Australia, Green Triangle Forest Products, Forestry Tasmania.
For more information visit www.forestrystandard.org.au and www.pefc.org
Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global association of voting members, who may be individuals or organisations. FSC was formed with the aim of promoting environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests. FSC differs from AFS in its treatment of some issues such as chemical use and genetically modified organisms.
FSC recently established FSC Australia and this organisation is currently developing membership, decision-making processes and an FSC Forests Management Standard for Australia.
A3P member companies certified under FSC: HVP Plantations
For more information visit www.fsc.org
Timber Information
Free technical information on the source, selection, properties and other atributes of plantation timber based products available for use in building and construction applications.