Sustainable Timber?
Is it possible to harvest timber in a more environmentally and sustainable way?
The answer is ‘yes’, but what is the process for it?
Sustainable timber is coming from forests that are sustainable managed. These forests need a certain clarification and certification in order to become considered ‘sustainable’.
‘Responsible Wood’ is an Australian non-profit organization that sets globally recognized standards for managing forests sustainably. The link below will lead you to their website:
Australian Forestry Standard Measures | Responsible Wood
To assist, please see some key points summarising Responsible Wood and forest and chain of custody certification from Matt De Jongh- Sustainable Manager
Responsible Wood is a not-for-profit accredited standards development organisation (formerly known as the Australian Forestry Standard Ltd), licenced by Standards Australia to develop standards. Responsible Wood also operates the Responsible Wood certification scheme, which demonstrates that products produced under those standards are sourced from sustainably managed forests.
Responsible Wood is endorsed by, and mutually recognised by, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), the world’s largest forest certification scheme. To achieve endorsement, the Responsible Wood certification scheme is subject to rigorous assessment by PEFC to confirm it was developed in line with international best practice, meets global expectations and the PEFC International benchmark sustainability standards.
Forest certification is a voluntary, market-based instrument, which is implemented through two separate but linked processes: sustainable forest management certification and chain of custody certification.
Under the Responsible Wood certification scheme organisations are assessed by independent certification bodies who are accredited by the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) for ongoing compliance against the two standards. JAS-ANZ is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the Association of Accredited Certification Bodies (AACB) and was established via an international treaty between Australia and New Zealand with the purpose of enhancing national, Trans-Tasman and international trade via accreditation to international standards.
The list of certification bodies can be found in the link: https://www.responsiblewood.org.au/what-you-can-do/find-certification-body/
Responsible Wood notification fees can be found in the notification fee schedule at: https://www.responsiblewood.org.au/what-you-can-do/get-certified/notification-fees/
The steps to seeking certification for both sustainable forest management and chain of custody are contained within the link: https://www.responsiblewood.org.au/what-you-can-do/get-certified/
Through the new revised joint Australia and New Zealand AS/NZ 4708:2021 Sustainable Forest Management standard, which covers about 20 million hectares of forest in Australia and New Zealand, making Responsible Wood Australasia’s largest and most diverse forest certification scheme.
Responsible Wood also has over 350 chain of custody sites, operating under the chain of custody standard.
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), recently assessed Responsible Wood, under their internationally recognised Green Star rating system, which sets standards for healthy, resilient, positive buildings and places that reduce the impact of climate change, enhance our quality of life, restore, and protect biodiversity and ecosystems, drive resilience and contribute to market transformation and a sustainable economy. The assessment rated Responsible Wood as Best Practice across a number of categories, therefore Responsible Wood labelled, certified products will receive greater Green Star points in the very important commercial market.
Membership: Companies, organisations and associations with principles and objectives supportive to Responsible Wood are encouraged to become members. Please see a list of members in the link: https://www.responsiblewood.org.au/discover-responsible-wood/current-members/
-Matt de Jongh-
Sustainability Manager