Credible Certification

What is Credible Certification?

One of the aims of forest certification is to provide reliable, credible information for end users and consumers of forest products. Credible certification is thus an independent system of evaluating of forestry methods with the aim of promoting internationally recognized best practices for forestry management.

Over the last decade various certification systems have developed to meet the requirements of different stakeholders. The World Bank-WWF Alliance for Forest Conservation and Sustainable Use has developed a set of criteria for evaluating the comprehensiveness of certification schemes/systems:

• institutionally and politically adapted to local conditions
• goal-oriented and effective in reaching objectives
• acceptable to all involved parties
• based on performance standards defined at the national level that are compatible with generally accepted principles of sustainable forest management
• based on objective and measurable criteria
• based on reliable and independent assessment
• credible to major stakeholder groups (including consumers, producers, conservation NGOs, etc.)
• certification decisions free of conflicts of interest from parties with vested interests
• cost-effective
• transparent
• equitable access to all countries

In collaboration with the World Bank, WWF has developed a methodology, The Forest Certification Assessment Guide (FCAG), and used it to evaluate various certification schemes. The assessments, as well as other evaluations demontrate that, while there is considerable room for improvement in all schemes, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification best meets WWF's key requirements.

Thus, while WWF acknowledges that several schemes may contribute to improve forest management, the organization will continue to focus its active efforts on improving the FSC system, on adapting FSC certification to different scales and national contexts, and on promoting the FSC logo as an internationally recognized hallmark of responsible forest management.

Comparing Certification Systems

Currently WWF considers the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification system to be the only credible system to ensure environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of forests. WWF therefore recommends the FSC system to consumers, forest managers, policy makers, businesses and the public.

Different users and stakeholders have different expectations of a certification scheme. Potential users will need to decide which one or more of the available systems meets their needs. Other stakeholders will need to decide which systems are credible for their purposes.

Certification Assessments/ Frameworks:

1. The Online Comparative Matrix of Forest Certification Scheme (2004)
   Launched by the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) in December 2004, this web-based tool allows access to and comparison of up-to-date data on all existing forest certification scheme. It aims to provide reliable advice to customers and companies involved in the paper and wood products trade on the credibility of individual forest certification schemes and the labels issued under these schemes. The Matrix has been developed by an independent party on behalf of CEPI.
2. Proposing an International Mutual Recognition Framework (IFIR - 2001)
   The International Forest Industry Roundtable (IFIR)'s Mutual Recognition aims to provide a critical mass of credibly certified wood products by recognising that different certification systems can provide substantially equivalent standards of sustainable forest managment.
3. Forest Certification Assessment Guide (FCAG)
   Developed by WWF and the World Bank - working together under the Alliance - the Guide is structured around widely used existing frameworks such as ISO, as well as both organizations' criteria for sustainable forest management. The Alliance plans to use the Guide to assist the development of forest certification systems in various countries.
4. Footprints in the Forest (FERN-2004)
   This report by Forests and the European Union Resource Network (FERN) assesses the key strenghts and weaknesses of eight certification schemes currently in operation. It is based on eight case studies describing the procedures of these eight schemes.
5. UK's Assessment of Five Forest Certification Schemes (DEFRA)
   The UK Government commissioned a study to assess five certification schemes identified by procurement staff as the most commonly encountered in the UK wood supply chain to establish which of them deliver UK Government requirements for legal and sustainable timber.

Comparison of Certification Assessment Frameworks

Forest Certification - A Review of Impacts and Assessment Frameworks
The Forest Dialogue's (TFD) report on forest certification reviews and compares the four assessment frameworks above (CEPI, IFIR, QACC and FERN).