sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY 6 verted 3.8 m³ of wood regrows per second in the German forest. The overall inventory of timer available in the German forest is 3.7 billion m³. Thus, Germany has the highest timber inventory in Europe. Source: Timber Balance for Germany In Finland, 77% of the country’s total territory is covered by forest, which means 4.2 hectares wooden area per resident. Nearly half of the Finish forests are pinewoods, the largest remaining portion is split between spruce, downy birch and weeping birch. The majority of Finland’s forests are mixed forests, thus they are home to more than one species. Overall 30 different domestic species can be found in Finland. The Finish forestry as well is managed according to the principle of sustainability because the annual increase of forests by 30% exceeds the annual timber harvest quantities. Consequently, the Finish forest grows continuously and this is true for all tree species and forest areas of Finland. The annual growth has exceeded the 100-million cubic metre threshold since a few years ago. In the year 2014, for example, there was a growth of 104 million m³. The total volume of the Finish forest in 2014 was at 2,360 billion m³ and since the beginning of the 21st century, Finland’s timber inventories have grown by 60%. Source: Finland’s forests Guaranteed sustainability along the supply chain – Chain of Custody (CoC) To guarantee the benefits of the sustainable and resource-conscious European forestry for the end user along the entire value added chain, consistent monitoring along the supply and production chain is needed – from the tree to the customer! At the level of the EU Member States, country-specific forestry laws ensure compliance with a sustainable and adjusted forestry. In the international economic area, this is ensured through a legal framework of the European Union to facilitate consistent control and monitoring of the sustainable supply chain. The FLEGT action plan and the EUTR With the FLEGT actions plan (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade), the EU has adopted a broadly based catalogue of measures to effectively fight the global problem of uncontrolled and illegal wood harvest. An important point in the FLEGT actions plan meanwhile is the European Timber Regulation (EUTR). At its core, it demands from all European market actors that they are accountable in the worldwide procurement of wood and wood products, to thereby be able to build up a sustainable supply chain in the long term. The regulation, which took force on 3 March 2013, foremost demands central proof that illegal sources of timber are excluded by companies importing to the European Union. For this purpose, each importer has to undergo a company-internal due diligence process, which is based on three central pillars: • Procurement of information • Risk assessment • Risk reduction Source: FLEGT approval system Independent certification of the supply chain Besides the strict public control bodies, the companies of the timber industry can seek additional testing from independent certifying institutions. Various service providers such as the PEFC or FSC are available for this. PEFC is the largest institution for the assurance and marketing of sustainable forestry by means of an independent certification system. It ensures a sustainable, careful and responsible forestry. This way, our forests will stay preserved also for future generations – as a living basis, workplace and recreational area. The aim is to continuously improve our forestry, preserve the forest and assure its positive effects on the environment. Thanks to an accreditation procedure according to international standards, the independence of the certifying institutes is guaranteed to a particularly high measure. The emphases here are on facilitating the fair participation of all forest owners, regardless of the size of their business, and consideration for the diversity of forest ecosystems, cultural heritage and ownership structures. PEFC is the first system that has integrated social criteria not only in the forest certification but also in the product chain certification (Chain of Custody).

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