Is mixing of PEFC and FSC material allowed?
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A recent FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) study set out to assess whether the requirements set for FSC Controlled Wood are met by PEFC (Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification) schemes. The schemes included in the study were the international PEFC standard (the Pan European Operational Level Guidelines - PEOLG) and two PEFC-endorsed national standards – PEFC Germany and SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) from the USA. The conclusions of the FSC report are that material certified by these PEFC schemes does not meet the requirements of the FSC Controlled Wood standards. The report states that therefore PEFC certified material cannot be mixed with FSC certified material without further examination of its origin and the associated risk.
(3 November 2009) A summary of the report is available. FSC state that the full report will soon be available online.
PEFC have issued a press release in response to the report, stating that the report is an attempt to undermine other forest certification systems.
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