The new strategy was approved by the PEFC Alliance, comprising 55 member countries, during the 2023 General Assembly in Vancouver, Canada. The strategy strongly focuses on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors and is more \u2018externally oriented\u2019 according to a statement released by PEFC International.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n David Ford, Vice President of PEFC International, spoke about the new strategy during the PEFC Members Week<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Our new 2030 strategy is built on a strong framework of four strategic pathways and fourteen key performance indicators. It illustrates our dedication to healthy forests, healthy forest communities, healthy forest workers, and a healthy forest economy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael Berger, CEO and General Secretary of PEFC International, said the strategy better aligns PEFC with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe development of the new PEFC Alliance 2030 Strategy, aligned with the SDGs, demonstrates how the PEFC members, Board, and secretariat came together to build an ambitious strategy. The implementation and monitoring journey begins now, which we will undertake with purpose and agility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new strategy identifies a \u20182030 Desired Impact\u2019 for a 15% increase in global forest area over the next seven years. In 2022, the FAO published a report outlining a four-fold increase in demand for timber by 2050 <\/a>\u2013 with PEFC (and FSC) under pressure to grow forest areas to meet demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Much of the increased demand for timber is expected to come from emerging markets \u2013 specifically Africa, the Middle East, and the Oceanic regions – with PEFC recognising the importance of expanding its alliance to grow the 13% of global forests covered by forest certification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The full document, available for download below, does not clarify the status of Russian and Belarusian forests, suspended by PEFC in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The decision to suspend both member countries from the PEFC alliance <\/a>resulted in the total supply of PEFC-certified forests contracting by 15% since March 2022. FSC<\/a>, which followed PEFC in suspending Russia and Belarus from certification, resulted in the total supply of FSC-certified forests contracting by almost 35% over the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Effectively PEFC is looking to new member countries to cover the loss of global forest area due to Russia\u2019s war with Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Fweej3yWAAU0hu8-1024x512.jpg\")
PEFC to increase its global certified area by 15%<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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The new strategy took 18 months to develop<\/h6>\n\n\n\n