Two new FSC Controlled Wood standards are valid as of January 1st. Forest operations and primary enterprises will need to comply with the revised standards already by 1st of January 2007, while secondary manufacturers as well as small enterprises shall comply by 1st of January 2008. Read more

In October, 24 participants from 10 countries joined NEPCon’s first English FSC certification training course. The course was held in Druskininkai, Lithuania, in collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance. “Learning to understand FSC certification from a practical assessor’s perspective was an eye-opening experience. It has been a real turning point for me in my work with FSC standards, and I am already using this new insight extensively when reviewing FSC principles and criteria”, says participant Jakob Futtrup, representative of the FSC working group in Denmark on behalf of the NGO Nepenthes. Read more

Assessment of forest management of City of Prague in the Czech Republic will be carried out by NEPCon during November 27.-29, 2006. NEPCon is a regional partner and the official representative of the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood Program in Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. City of Prague owns and manages 2394 ha of forest land.

Group assessment of Viljandi and Valga Forest Owners Group located in Estonia will be carried out by NEPCon during October 25-26, 2006. NEPCon is a regional partner and the official representative of the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood Program in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia.Viljandi and Valga Forest Owners Group is managing 460 ha of forest land. Coordinator of the forest owners group going under certification is Indrek Tust, who is working as Forestry Manager in AS Stora Enso Mets. Group members forests are located in Viljandi and Valga County.

Re-assessment of State forest management centre (RMK) located in Estonia will be carried out by NEPCon during November 6-10, 2006. NEPCon is a regional partner and the official representative of the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood Program in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. State forest management centre (RMK) is managing 1 082 600 ha of public lands, including 816 500 ha of forest land. RMK has 5 forest management regions and 64 forest districts. SmartWood Program issued forest management and chain of custody certificate with five year validity period to RMK on February 1, 2002. Since that NEPCon has conducted seven surveillance audits in RMK. During audits the certification team checked compliance of forest management activities with FSC requirements and fulfillment of established Corrective Action Requests.

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance is conducting FSC forest management and chain of custody certification re-assessment of Dvinskoy LPH located in Arkhangelsk region, Russia. This re-assessment will be carried out by NEPCon - a regional partner and the official representative of the SmartWood Program in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. The forest management certification re-assessment is scheduled to be carried out in October 23-25, 2006.

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance is conducting FSC forest management and chain of custody certification assessment of Yasngolesprom OOO, Komilesbiznes OOO and Ch.P. Mashkalev located in Komi Republic, Russia. This assessment will be carried out by NEPCon - a regional partner and the official representative of the SmartWood Program in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. The forest management certification assessment is scheduled to be carried out in October 16-19, 2006. The assessment will cover a forest area of 131855,7 ha.

In July 2006 NEPCon Poland has conducted a joint ISO and FSC certification audit at Pleiderer Grajewo S.A. and Pfleiderer Prospan S.A. Quality management system according to ISO 9001:2000 standard as well as FSC chain of custody system have been evaluated.

In July 2006 NEPCon Poland has conducted a joint ISO and FSC certification audit at Pleiderer Grajewo S.A. and Pfleiderer Prospan S.A. Quality management system according to ISO 9001:2000 standard as well as FSC chain of custody system have been evaluated.

On 21 August 2006 the certification decision was taken and ISO 9001 multisite certificate was granted to both companies. The certificate ensures that the implemented quality management system is in compliance with the internationally recognized ISO 9001:2000 standard. Scope of the certificate is as follows: production of raw chipboards, melamine faced chipboards, foiled chipboards, worktops, finish foils, and melamine films.

The certificate is accredited by the Polish Accreditation Body, member of the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA). It means that the certificate issued by NEPCon Poland is relied upon all over the world because the MLA assures customers that the certificate is credible.

Pfleiderer Grajewo S.A. and Pfleiderer Prospan S.A. belong to Pfleiderer concern –leading manufacturer of materials for the furniture industry. Its production capacity places the Pfleiderer concern in second place in the world among manufacturers of chipboard dedicated to furniture and interior design. The concern consistently develops its sales in Russia, the Baltic States and Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Sweden and Denmark.

More information:
Agnieszka Łopata, Certification Office Director
NEPCon Sp. z o.o., Czapińskiego 3/311, 30-048 Kraków, Poland
al@nepcon.net, www.nepcon.net.

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance is conducting FSC forest management and chain of custody certification assessment of 5 subsidiaries of Stora Enso Wood Supply Russia located in Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov Oblast and Republic of Karelia, Russian Federation and covering the area of 423 782 ha.

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance is conducting FSC forest management and chain of custody certification assessment of Lesinterkom located in Kirovsk oblast, Russian Federation and covering the area of 6903 ha. The forest management pre-assessment was not conducted as the area is below 10 thousand ha. The forest management certification assessment is scheduled to be carried out in September 26-29, 2006.

Become trained in FSC certification by some of the most experienced auditors.
Training is designed to be a well-balanced combination of presentations, practical exercises, field auditing and teamwork. The course is targeted to future FSC auditors, staff of FSC national initiatives, staff of companies/forest managers responsible for certification as well as others interested in detailed knowledge of certification requirements and procedures. The training is conducted in cooperation with the SmartWood program of Rainforest Alliance – the world largest forest certification program and Druskininkai State Forest Enterprise.

Become trained in FSC certification by some of the most experienced auditors.
Training is designed to be a well-balanced combination of presentations, practical exercises, field auditing and teamwork. The course is targeted to future FSC auditors, staff of FSC national initiatives, staff of companies/forest managers responsible for certification as well as others interested in detailed knowledge of certification requirements and procedures. The training is conducted in cooperation with the SmartWood program of Rainforest Alliance – the world largest forest certification program and Druskininkai State Forest Enterprise.

When: October 2-6th, 2006
Where: Druskininkai, Lithuania
What: - 3 Day Forest Assessor Course on 2-4th October, 2006
- 2 Day Controlled Wood and Chain of Custody Course on 5-6th of October, 2006
Language: English (Course in Russian planned for November 2006)



Among other topics the forest assessor course will address:
- Introduction to FSC
- Certification basics
- Role of assessor and assessment team
- Gathering information
- The FSC principles&criteria
- The assessment and audit process
- Stakeholder consultation
- Chain of custody (CoC) requirements for forest managers
- FSC trademark use for forest manager
- Evaluation of the high conservation value forest

The controlled wood part of the course will cover:
- Background for controlled wood
- Controlled wood standards
- Forest manager certification
- Risk assessment
- Verification of suppliers

The chain of custody part of the course will look into:
- Introduction to FSC
- Why Chain of Custody
- Standards for Chain of Custody certification
- FSC trademark use for manufactures

Location:
The course will be held in Lithuania, Druskininkai, at M.K.Čiurlionio 96. Accommodation available at your choice in one of the two hotels: “Druskininkai” (V.Kudirkos str. 43) or “Vilnius SPA” (K.Dineikos str.1).

Course registration:
To apply for the course, please fill out the application form. Please fax it to: +372 7 380 724 or email it to: ik@nepcon.net. Course registration deadline is 22nd of September, 2006. For fast applicants registering before 1st of September 10% discount is offered.

Course fees:
3 Day Forest Assessor Course 750 EUR
2 Day Controlled Wood and CoC Course 500 EUR
Price for the full week: 1000 EUR

The course fee includes food during the course and training materials, but excludes accommodation and alcoholic drinks.

As a non-profit organization, NEPCon can provide support/discount for representatives of FSC National Initiatives, non profit organizations and students. Please contact NEPCon for details.

As partner in a Consortium led by DHI Water & Environment, NEPCon will be involved in a new project in Lithuania, Institutional Building for the Nemunas River Basin Management. The project is supported by the Transition Facility of the EU Phare program. The consortium also includes two Lithuanian partners: Institute of Ecology at Vilnius University and the company HNIT- Baltic Geoinfoservisas.

As partner in a Consortium led by DHI Water & Environment, NEPCon will be involved in a new project in Lithuania, Institutional Building for the Nemunas River Basin Management. The project is supported by the Transition Facility of the EU Phare program. The consortium also includes two Lithuanian partners: Institute of Ecology at Vilnius University and the company HNIT- Baltic Geoinfoservisas.

Key tasks of the project are 1) capacity building of staff from the Lithuanian Ministry of Environment, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Environmental Protection Departments and other agencies; and 2) the development of a comprehensive management plan for the Lithuanian part of the Nemunas River Basin, covering approximately 75% of Lithuania’s territory. With a total catchment area of 97,900 km2 shared between 5 different countries, the Nemunas River Basin is among the largest in the Baltic Sea catchment area. Around half of the river’s catchment area is situated in Lithuanian territory.

In collaboration with local experts, NEPCon will provide key technical expertise related to capacity building of staff, stakeholder involvement and awareness raising.

The project is a central part of Lithuania’s efforts to ensure compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive. The directive implies an innovative and integrated approach to freshwater management, treating entire catchment areas in a holistic way and stressing participatory planning.

On 17th July 2006 NEPCon Sp. z o.o., Poland has been accredited by the Polish Accreditation Body to provide certification of quality management systems according to ISO 9001:2000. Assigned accreditation number is AC 131.

On 17th July 2006 NEPCon Sp. z o.o., Poland has been accredited by the Polish Accreditation Body to provide certification of quality management systems according to ISO 9001:2000. Assigned accreditation number is AC 131.

The accreditation granted means that our company has appropriate technical competence as well as internal quality management system, that ensures impartiality and the highest quality of provided certification services.

NEPCon invites all companies interested in quality and environmental management systems certification (ISO 9001, ISO 14001) as well as FSC certification to contact our regional offices at www.nepcon.net.


More information on accreditation:
Dr. Agnieszka Lopata
al@nepcon.net

NEPCon Sp. z o.o.
Czapińskiego 3/311
30-048 Krakow, Poland
tel. +48 295 03 73
fax: +48 295 03 74

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance is conducting FSC forest management and chain of custody certification reassessment of Regional Directorate of State Forests in Zielona Gora located in Poland. The reassessment will be implemented in August 2006. The Regional Directorate of State Forests in Zielona Gora covers the area of Western Poland, occupying about 452 781,90 hectares, in which forests cover 432 859,84 hectares. The reassessment covering the environmental, economic and social aspects of the forest management in the forest area managed by will be based upon the SmartWood Interim Standards for Poland SW-STD-POL-2006-06. To get a copy of the standards, please download a copy from www.nepcon.net.

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance is conducting FSC forest management and chain of custody certification reassessment of SFEs Biržai and Panevėžys located in Lithuania. The reassessment is scheduled to be carried out during 7-11 August 2006 and will cover the area of 31 000 and 39 200 ha accordingly. The reassessment covering the environmental, economic and social aspects of the forest management in the forest area managed by SFEs Biržai and Panevėžys will be based upon the SmartWood Interim Standards for Lithuania. To get a copy of the standards, please download a copy from www.nepcon.net.

As the first state forests in Denmark, the two Danish state forest districts Kronborg and Fussingø are now certified according to the two most widely acknowledged international forest certification schemes, FSC and PEFC. The two districts cover 12,000 hectares including 7,500 hectares of forest.

As the first state forests in Denmark, the two Danish state forest districts Kronborg and Fussingø are now certified according to the two most widely acknowledged international forest certification schemes, FSC and PEFC. The two districts cover 12,000 hectares including 7,500 hectares of forest.

In collaboration with Rainforest Alliance (FSC) and BMG Trada Certifiering AB (PEFC), NEPCon conducted the independent third party evaluations forming the basis for both certifications.

Subsequently the Danish Minister of Environment Connie Hedegaard has announced that the remaining state forests shall also be certified according to both FSC and PEFC standards. It is expected that certification of the remaining 18 districts will take place during the coming year. Referring also to the Danish public procurement policy for tropical timber, which emphasizes certification, Hedegaard has declared her support to the use of forestry certification schemes worldwide.

Peter Feilberg, NEPCon’s director and lead assessor during the evaluations, comments: ”The statement made by the Minister of Environment is very important. Certification of all Danish state forests will make a substantial difference on the Danish home market for wood. Along with the Danish procurement policy for tropical timber, the decision to have all state forests certified demonstrates a firm commitment by the Danish government to support responsible forest management throughout the world”.

According to consultant Mads Jakobsen from the Forest and Nature Agency, the certification process has been a positive experience: ”Even though certification seems complicated, with a lot of complex rules and requirements, the process was rather smooth. Probably because the overall aim of the state forests is multi-purpose management, and the agency already has a number of policies and strategies supporting compliance with the certification requirements”, considers Jakobsen, adding: “And the efficiency of the process was further enhanced by the good quality work and service provided by NEPCon”.

Peter Feilberg highlights the agency’s recent action plan for close-to-nature forestry, adopted in 2005: ”The agency has been working for years with a number of aspects that are important in a certification process, such as working environment, stakeholder involvement, outphasing the use of pesticides, and protection of old natural forest. The action plan supplements these policies by prescribing a comprehensive conversion of the silvicultural system itself into a permanent tree cover management system. Gradual implementation of this new system is expected to result in increased production of high-quality timber and is also supportive of forest health, stability, and ecology within commercial tree stands”, Peter Feilberg says.

NEPCon conducts FSC evaluations in collaboration with Rainforest Alliance, holder of FSC accreditation, and PEFC evaluations in collaboration with BMG Trada Certifiering AB which upholds PEFC accreditation.


Contact and further information

Anyone interested in the certification process are welcome to contact NEPCon with questions or comments.

FSC-certificate
Peter Feilberg, NEPCon
E-mail: pf@nepcon.net
Mobile: 40360866

PEFC-certificate
Flemming Sehested
NEPCon
E-mail fs@nepcon.net
Mobil: 2366 424

Contact to the Danish Forest and Nature Agency: Consultant Mads Jakobsen: mja@sns.dk

Information about the certification systems and national standards used may be found at the following home pages:
FSC in Denmark: www.fsc.dk
FSC globally: www.fsc.org
PEFC: www.pefc.dk
PEFC globally: www.pefc.org


BACKGROUND

The evaluation process
FSC and PEFC pre-assessments took place during the period 31 August – 5 September 2005. The main assessments were conducted during the period 15 November – 22 November 2005.

The FSC and PEFC evaluations were conducted by the following team:
Peter Feilberg - FSC Lead Assessor
Flemming Sehested - PEFC Lead Assessor
Anne-Sofie Forfang - FSC Assessor

Representatives of FSC Denmark, BMG Trada Certifiering and the Swedish PEFC accreditation body SWEDAC participated in the evaluations as observers.

The evaluations included field visits and interviews at both districts, interviews with a number of employees in the Danish Forest and Nature Agency as well as extensive dialogue with stakeholders at national and local level.

The Danish state forests

The Danish state forests are managed by 20 state forest districts covering approximately 192,000 hectares. Around 109,000 hectares are forest covered, corresponding to 22% of the country’s total forest area.
Danish state forests are managed according to a number of policies, including the recent ‘action plan for close-to-nature forestry’. According to this plan, stands will be converted and managed by close-to-nature silviculture which fosters healthy and stable forests producing a large volume of high quality timber. The action plan also enhances nature even within commercial stands by prescribing a management regime based on natural processes.

The strategy implies a more varied forest structure, selective felling, more extensive use of native deciduous tree species such as oak and beech, leaving of decaying trees and dead wood in the forest, and the restoration of many natural habitats such as lakes, swamps, and streams.


About Rainforest Alliance

The mission of the Rainforest Alliance is to protect ecosystems and the people and wildlife that depend on them by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. Companies, cooperatives and landowners that participate in Rainforest Alliance programs meet rigorous standards that conserve biodiversity and provide sustainable livelihoods. In more than 50 countries around the world, Rainforest Alliance is helping businesses, governments and communities change their land-use practices and set standards for the long-term use of resources and the conservation of the planet’s great wealth of biodiversity.
The Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program was founded in 1989 to certify responsible forestry practices and to date has certified more than 28 million hectares worldwide. The Rainforest Alliance is the world's leading Forest Stewardship Council forest certifier. To learn more, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.

About BMG Trada Certifiering AB

BMG Trada Certifiering AB is a Swedish company dedicated to assisting companies and organizations to improve on a range of quality aspects and increase their competitiveness through certification. BMG Trada offers a range of different certification services. In addition to upholding a PEFC accreditation, the company maintans accreditations within ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and certification schemes within working environment and nutrition. To learn more, visit www.bmgtradacert.se.

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance is conducting FSC forest management and chain of custody certification re-assessment of SJSC “Latvijas Valsts Meži” located in Latvia. This assessment will be carried out by NEPCon - a regional partner and the official representative of the SmartWood Program in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. The forest management certification assessment is scheduled to be carried out from July 17, 2006. The assessment will cover a forest area of 1.621.346 ha, which is currently covered under 8 different FSC certificates. The assessment will be based upon the SmartWood Interim Standards for Latvia.

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance is conducting FSC forest management and chain of custody certification assessment of Swedwood Tikhvin OOO located in Tikhvin, Leningrad Oblast, Russian Federation. This assessment will be carried out by NEPCon - a regional partner and the official representative of the SmartWood Program in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. The forest management certification assessment is scheduled to be carried out in June 26-30, 2006.

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance is conducting FSC forest management and chain of custody certification assessment of Swedwood Karelia OOO located in Kalevala, Republic of Karelia, Russian Federation. This assessment will be carried out by NEPCon - a regional partner and the official representative of the SmartWood Program in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. The forest management certification assessment is scheduled to be carried out in July 3-7, 2006.

More than 1 million hectares FSC certified by Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance and NEPCon announced today that three FSC group certificates have been issued to Mogilev, Grodno and Brest Regional Forest Boards in Belarus. The certificates cover approximately 1,4 million hectares of forest.

More than 1 million hectares FSC certified by Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance and NEPCon announced today that three FSC group certificates have been issued to Mogilev, Grodno and Brest Regional Forest Boards in Belarus. The certificates cover approximately 1,4 million hectares of forest.

Furthermore, about 1 million hectares of forest are currently under FSC evaluation, and the Ministry of Forestry expects that an additional area of around 4,5 million hectares will undergo FSC evaluation during the next two years.

NEPCon conducted FSC evaluations of 2.5 million hectares of state forest between June and November 2005, and follow-up audits took place in March and April 2006. The area is divided into five forest enterprise groups and one single forest enterprise.

Peter Feilberg, Director of NEPCon and FSC assessment team leader, says: “Now we see the first major results on the ground of the government decision to seek FSC certification of the Belarussian state forests. This is very positive, both because of the direct impact in terms of working environment and nature protection, and because it has an important market effect when a large and forest-rich country such as Belarus officially goes for and achieves FSC forest management certification.” Pulpwood from Belarus is widely exported through the Baltic countries to mainly Scandinavian pulp mills, while processed timber is sold to several western European countries.

The assessments were carried out by a broadly composed international team of 11 experts from 7 different countries. In addition to NEPCon and Rainforest Alliance staff, the team included several Belarussian environmentalists and scientists as well as team members familiar with FSC certification from the Baltic countries and Western Europe.

Alexandre Vintchevski, executive director of Birdlife Belarus and assessment team member, says: “I enjoyed very much working with the NEPCon team, and the certification process certainly has improved the situation for forest nature protection in Belarus. For example, several forest enterprises have already improved the efficiency of rare species protection as a direct consequence of the evaluation process. And some regional forest boards have even issued orders for implementation of some FSC rules in the region as a whole.”

Vintchevski notes that the impact of FSC certification on woodland biodiversity protection is likely to exceed other public initiatives to safeguard rare and endangered forest life in Belarus. He sees the market advantages of certification as well as the transparency and credibility of the certification process as important factors driving forest management operations to improve.

Contact:

Lead assessor Peter Feilberg
E-mail: pf@nepcon.net
Skype: pfeilberg
Mobile: +372 56 640 246



BACKGROUND

The certification process

The certification of the groups is the first major FSC certification in the country since a pilot certification of one forest district took place three years ago. Experience from the pilot test has been used for preparation of forest management certification of the groups.

FSC evaluations covered 5 Group Forest Management (FM) certificates and 1 Single FM certificate. The FM evaluations were combined with chain of custody evaluation of 32 timber industries belonging to the forest management operations. Chain of custody certification will be included under the FM certificates.

All assessed Forest Management Operations are state-owned and subordinated under the Ministry of Forestry.

Pre-asssessment took place on the 13-16 June 2005, while the main field visit took place 19 September through 13 October 2005. Follow-up audits were conducted in March and April 2006.

Assessment teams were composed of subsets of the following team members:
• Peter Feilberg, M.Sc., Director NEPCon (team leader)
• Dr Andrei Laletin, NEPCon Siberia (team leader)
• Dr Heorhi Kazulka, Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Environmentalist
• Saulius Adomavicius, M.Sc. Deputy Director, Druskininkai State Forest, Lithuania
• Dr Gediminas Brazaitis, Birdlife Lithuania, Kaunas University
• Peter Sprang, M.Sc. NEPCon
• Dr Aliaksandr V. Puhacheuski, Deputy Director, Institute of Experimental Botany, Belarus
• Dr Alexandre Vintchevski, Director, Bird Life Belarus
• Søren Dürr, FSC Denmark, Director
• Inga Külmoja, M.A. Certification Coordinator, NEPCon Estonia
• Ulrich Mueller, M.Sc. Rainforest Alliance/SmartWood program, Germany

As a result of the assessments, major non compliance with the standards were identified for three groups out of the five. The non compliances were related mainly to harvesting rights, harvesting technique, personal protection equipment, high conservation value forest and/or procedures for group management. These non compliances shall be corrected before an FSC certificate may be issued. Corrective actions have already been taken by two of the three groups.

For all groups a number of smaller problems were identified, mostly related to personal protection equipment for loggers, harvesting technology, mapping of high conservation value forest and procedures for logo use. In order to maintain FSC certification, the certified operation shall correct these problems within one year after their certification.

In July, public summaries of the certification reports will be available in English and Russian on the Rainforest AllianceWeb site www.rainforest-alliance.org


Forests of Belarus

Belarus’ more than 9 million hectares of forest are 100% state-owned, and around 17,500 person are employed by the state forest sector.

Nearly 8 million hectares, with a growing stock of 1.3 billion m3, are managed by the Ministry of Forestry. The remaining 1 million hectares of forest managed by other agencies, including among others the country’s National Parks, are not currently planned to undergo certification.

Belarussian woodlands mainly comprise temperate forests dominated by Scots pine, Norway
spruce, and birch with some admixture of alder, aspen, oak and larch. There are many rare
and threatened species in Belarussian forests including for example european bison and black
stork.

About 3 million ha of the forest in Belarus is contaminated by radiation after the Chernobyl
meltdown. One million hectares of forest administered by the Ministry of Forestry will not
undergo certification because these forests are so seriously contaminated that it is not
advisable to work or stay there.

About NEPCon

NEPCon is a non-profit organization operating mainly in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Russia. Our mission is to promote sustainable forest and nature management and use, in cooperation with local stakeholders such as individuals, busines enterprises, NGOs and government institutions.
Our core activity is certification of forest management operations and wood-based industry and trade. We have more than 10 years of experience and have provided services to the certification process of around 10% of the world’s FSC certified forests. NEPCon offers FSC services in cooperation with the SmartWood Programme established by Rainforest Alliance, which maintains FSC accreditation.

In addition to our activities related to certification, NEPCon provides consulting services and manages technical assistance projects concerned with responsible use of natural resources.

More information about NEPCon is available at www.nepcon.net


About Rainforest Alliance

The mission of the Rainforest Alliance is to protect ecosystems and the people and wildlife that depend on them by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. Companies, cooperatives and landowners that participate in Rainforest Alliance programs meet rigorous standards that conserve biodiversity and provide sustainable livelihoods. In more than 50 countries around the world, Rainforest Alliance is helping businesses, governments and communities change their land-use practices and set standards for the long-term use of resources and the conservation of the planet’s great wealth of biodiversity.

The Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program was founded in 1989 to certify responsible forestry practices and to date has certified more than 28 million hectares worldwide. The Rainforest Alliance is the world's leading Forest Stewardship Council forest certifier.

NEPCon is now able to offer PEFC and MTCC (Malaysian Timber Certification Council) certification services. In order to provide these services, NEPCon has been registered as a chain of custody auditing company under MTCC and entered an agreement with BMG TRADA Certifiering AB regarding PEFC forest management and chain of custody certification. BMG TRADA is PEFC accredited.

NEPCon is now able to offer PEFC and MTCC (Malaysian Timber Certification Council) certification services. In order to provide these services, NEPCon has been registered as a chain of custody auditing company under MTCC and entered an agreement with BMG TRADA Certifiering AB regarding PEFC forest management and chain of custody certification. BMG TRADA is PEFC accredited.

For the past 6 years, NEPCon has been providing FSC certification services. “During the last year we have experienced an increasing demand among our FSC certified clients for being certified according to several certification systems”, says Peter Feilberg, Director of NEPCon. “Through the new agreements with BMG TRADA and MTCC we can now offer a combination of FSC, PEFC and MTCC certification services for these companies”, he continues.

NEPCon expects that the procedures for multiple certification can be simplified and the cost reduced by having one service provider offering the “full package” as opposed to having different auditors auditing each system. However, companies will still get separate certificates covering each system.

NEPCon still considers FSC certification service as the core business. The organisation has close to 400 FSC clients and has provided FSC assessments covering an area of more than 10 million hectares. FSC certification is provided through the Rainforest Alliance SmartWood Program. FSC is the system with the highest degree of market penetration and the broadest support among stakeholders.


Contact info

Contact person: Director Peter Feilberg
Mobile phone: + 45 40360866 (Denmark) and +372 56 640 246 (Estonia)

About FSC
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is an international non-governmental organization established in order to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. FSC is based on a set of global standards and may take place anywhere in the world. FSC builds on participation of all stakeholders at global and national level. In order to achieve a balanced representation of interests, FSC is organized into three chambers: An economic, a social, and an environmental chamber. More info: www.fsc.org

About PEFC
PEFC (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) is non-governmental organization that acts as an umbrella organization for the assessment and mutual recognition of national forest certification schemes. In order to endorse such national schemes, PEFC requires that they build on inter-governmental processes for the promotion of sustainable forest management. More info: www.pefc.org

About MTCC
MTCC (Malaysian Timber Certification Council) is an independent non-profit organisation established to plan and operate a voluntary national timber certification scheme to provide assurance to buyers of Malaysian timber products that the products have been sourced from sustainably managed forests. More info: www.mtcc.com.my