PEFC is highlighting that fact that informed procurement choices can support sustainable forest management, help protect workers’ health and the rights of those who depend on forests. Increasingly, those involved in public sector and corporate purchasing are setting ambitious targets which aim to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains.  

These matters are given further credence in The World Resources Institute & World Business Council for Sustainable Development Sustainable Procurement Guide for Wood and Paper-based Products, which is designed to help procurement professionals make informed choices and gain a better understanding of the challenges involved in the development and implementation of procurement policies for paper, packaging and solid wood products. For a company sourcing wood-based products, knowing their supply chains helps to increase transparency and reduce risks. Sourcing from responsibly-managed forests, such as those certified to PEFC’s Sustainable Forest Management standard, demonstrates an organisation’s support for well-managed forests and helps grow markets for certified forest products. 

This useful guide identifies 10 key aspects, including legal, environmental and social issues, that underpin sustainable sourcing of wood and paper based products and provides useful tools to help tackle these challenges:

Sourcing and legality aspects

Origin – Where do the products come from?

Information accuracy – Is information about the products credible?

Legality – Have the products been legally produced?

Environmental aspects

Sustainability – Have the forests been sustainably- managed?

Unique forest values – Have unique forest values been protected?

Climate change – Have climate issues been addressed?

Environmental protection – Have appropriate environmental controls been applied?

Fresh and recycled fiber – Have fresh and recycled fiber been used appropriately?

Other resources – Have other resources been used appropriately?

Social aspects

Local communities and indigenous peoples – Have the needs of local communities or indigenous peoples been addressed?

PEFC has been working closely with the packaging sector to promote the benefits of sourcing packaging materials from PEFC-certified sources. There is a growing demand for more environmental information to be displayed on packaging, to help consumers make informed choices, with 54% of consumers trusting environmental labels that are displayed on their packaging. Retailers, brand owners and packaging suppliers can all help meet these customer demands by sourcing materials from renewable, responsibly-managed, sources and using on-pack messaging to display environmental information.

More information on the on the Sustainable Procurement Guide can be found at http://bit.ly/1J1QSyn. In addition, WRI and WBCSD will be hosting a series of webinars about the Sustainable Procurement Guide – for more information about participation visit: bit.ly/1MvaJZI