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PEFC: PEFC Chain of Custody certification of forest and tree products
Sustainable Forest Management

PEFC: PEFC Chain of Custody certification of forest and tree products

​The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, better known by its acronym PEFC, is the global organisation that promotes sustainable forest management through forest certification and the labelling of forest and tree products. It is a non-governmental, international, and non-profit organisation that emerged in 1998 as a voluntary initiative of the private forestry sector to promote sustainable forest management through certification by an independent party: www.pefc.org or www.pefc.es.

The PEFC Forest Certification provides the framework for developing common principles for certification, establishes the mechanisms for mutual recognition of the Certification systems developed by the different participating countries and offers a collective mark, the PEFC logo, which certifies that a certain forest product comes from a forest managed with sustainability criteria.

PEFC Certification: Sustainable forest and raw material management

Any organisation that manages forest and tree products can contribute to the sustainability of the world's forests by implementing a chain of custody system. PEFC chain of custody certification ensures that the forest and tree material in products carrying PEFC declarations or labelled as such originate from sustainably managed forests, recycled material and/or PEFC controlled sources.

What benefits does the PEFC certification bring to your organisation?

  • It facilitates the opening of new markets, which are increasingly sensitive to environmental and sustainability issues.
  • It provides a tool to help meet the legal requirements of the timber trade, thus improving your social responsibility and image before the Public Administrations.
  • It can be a differentiating element over competitors, insofar as it features a chain of custody certificate from AENOR, an independent accredited entity.
  • Forest and tree products managed within the framework of a chain of custody offer guarantees as to their origin, i.e. from forests that have been responsibly managed through environmentally sound practices.
  • Consumers are assured of the legal origin of the wood in products that they consume, and that it does not come from over-exploited forests or illegal felling.

PEFC has carried out a thorough review of the Chain of Custody (PEFC ST 2002:2020) and Use of Registered Mark (PEFC ST 2001:2020) standards, which were approved in 2020 by the General Assembly of PEFC International. For more information, please click here.

Certification of the Chain of Custody is aimed at any entity, company or facility that produces, markets or manipulates forest products in its production process, including wood, paper, cork, bark, resins, and derivatives. It also covers foodstuffs obtained from certified forests (mushrooms, game, etc).

Once the Auditing process has been completed, in compliance with the UNE 162002 standard and the Spanish System for Forest Certification from PEFC-Spain, your organisation will obtain:

  • The AENOR Sustainable Forest Management Certificate.
  • The usage license for the mark PEFC.


AENOR is accredited by ENAC National Accreditation Body for the certification of the Chain of Custody of Forest Products by the PEFC System (accreditation no. 01/C-PR108) and for certification in Sustainable Forest Management in compliance with the UNE 162002 standard and the Spanish Forest Certification System of PEFC-Spain (accreditation no. 01/C-SG068). This accreditation allows AENOR to certify the PEFC Chain of Custody and Sustainable Forest Management.

See here the organisations certified in PEFC Chain of Custody.

List of forests assigned to the Sustainable Forest Management certificates.