60% of the world's certified forests are PEFC-certified. That's more than 300,000,000 hectares of forest ...
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- FSC® and PEFC certified paper
FSC® and PEFC certified paper – what does it mean?
A chain-of-custody certificate is one way to know for certain how the wood raw material for your paper was sourced. Read on if you want to know how to tell your FSC® from your PEFC.
What is a chain-of-custody certificate?
A chain-of-custody certification, such as FSC® or PEFC, guarantees that the fibre raw material used for the paper doesn’t come from an unacceptable source. It shows that it can be traced all the way from the forest to the point of sale.
The chain of custody certification guarantees that the wood:
- has not been harvested illegally
- is not in conflict with the rights of indigenous people
- does not come from forests with high conservation values or natural forests that have been converted to plantations, and
- is not genetically modified.
Why is an FSC® or PEFC certificate important?
For us as a paper supplier, it guarantees to our customers that we are in control of our supply chain, and that there is no uncertainty surrounding the origins of the wood used in our products.
Is all paper from Holmen certified?
All the raw material we at Holmen use complies with the requirements for controlled wood according to the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC ID-FSC-C020071) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest certification (PEFC/05-33-134), regardless of whether it’s certified or not. Customers who require FSC®, PEFC or EU Ecolabel-certified paper need to request it when ordering.
What are FSC® and PEFC certifications?
FSC® and PEFC are both chain-of-custody certifications with equivalent requirements that focus on the origin of the raw material. There are more similarities between these certification labels than differences. Here's a short explanation about their origin and what they cover.
1
What does FSC®-certified paper mean?
The FSC® certification label stands for sustainable sourcing that puts forests and people first. To hold an FSC® certification, an organisation needs to verify sustainable sourcing of forest products and ecosystem services at every step of the value chain, from forest to consumer.
The FSC® was founded in 1993 as a voluntary certification for sustainable forestry and the forestry certification standard is based on 10 principles that support:
- zero deforestation
- safeguarding of ancient and endangered forests
- fair wage and work environment
- biodiversity preservation
- community rights, including the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Holmen's paper production conforms to the FSC® Standard (FSC-STD-40-004) since 2008.
2
What does PEFC-certified paper mean?
The PEFC label on a product, such as paper, or a printed book, publication, or magazine, means that all forest-based material in it comes from a PEFC-certified forest, which is managed in line with the strictest environmental, social and economic requirements. Beyond ensuring that the material comes from a certified forest, it also protects the rights of workers along the production process.
PEFC stands for the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, a global alliance of national forest certification systems. PEFC works through multi-stakeholder processes with national organisations to advance responsible forestry in line with local priorities and conditions.
PEFC was founded in 1999 as a voluntary certification, to enable a certification process for small- and family forest owners. It has since then grown to become the world’s largest forest certification system.
Holmen's paper production complies with the requirements in the PEFC certification (PEFC/05-33-134) since 2007.
... and 210 million hectares in the world are certified according to FSC®. Approximately 95 million hectares hold both certifications.
Want to know more about sustainability in Holmen?
Here are some recommendations if you want more detailed information about how sustainability is core to us:
Climate impact study
Which paper is actually best from a climate perspective? This was a question Penguin Random House asked. Holmen BOOK had the lowest carbon footprint of all the papers in the study.
Read about the resultsEcoVadis Platinum
Holmen's paper mills were awarded EcoVadis Platinum medal 2023, for the seventh consecutive year.
Read about EcoVadisHow to use the Paper Profile
The Paper Profile is an environmental product declaration that makes it easy to compare paper from different manufacturers.
Paper profiles