EU ban on illegal timber trade under way … According to several media, the EU countries have agreed to ban trade in illegal timber products in the …

UK timber industry joins the Due Diligence debate … In a joint statement, the UK’s Timber Trade Federation, Confederation of Forest Industries, Wood Panels Industries Federation and British Woodworking Federation call on the EU to adopt "a workable, but …

PEFC chain of custody standards to cover social issues … PEFC has launched a process that aims to develop a system for including social issues into the PEFC chain of custody …

Will US Green Building Council let the forests down? … It's quite possible, judging by a new draft forestry benchmark proposed for the US LEED green building standard. Using certified wood credits you with only a single point out of the minimum 40 you …

Wake-up call for builders: use certified wood … Starting on Monday 8th of March and throughout the next 4 months, nearly all glulam products leaving the factories of the Danish company Lilleheden A/S will carry a bright green FSC …

First discussions on global framework for timber legality verification … Increased focus on illegal logging and its numerous adverse effects, including deforestation and related climate change, has resulted in clear market demands for documented legality …

The UK includes social criteria in timber procurement policy … At the Chatham House 15th Illegal Logging Stakeholder Update, the UK Minister of Environment, food and rural affairs Hilary Benn announced the inclusion of social criteria in the Government's …

… launch of its first FSC-labelled book, and the Sao Paulo newspaper Metro followed in the footsteps of Dutch and Danish daily newspapers by having its daily paper FSC-labeled. …

Ethical bank targets FSC business in developing countries … The leading Danish ethical bank Merkur Cooperative Bank has been financing socially and environmentally sustainable business development in Europe for …

… a strong paper policy that sets preference for recycled and FSC certified paper. …

New corruption figures: changes in Controlled Wood risk … The new Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released by Transparency International has implications for companies sourcing controlled wood from countries with a CPI fluctuating around …

FSC certification of 8,000 Swedish family forests … The great success of Swedish forest group Södra's FSC group scheme proves that large scale FSC certification of small private forest land In Europe is …

Biochar: New weapon to fight deforestation and climate change? … Among the numerous new approaches to mitigate global warming, some may open up new business opportunities for forest …

Belgian supermarket launches FSC certified till receipts … According to a press release from FSC-Belgium, the Colruyt group is switching to FSC-certified paper for its till receipts for a number of its …

EU Parliament votes to curb illegal timber trade … While the US Lacey Act adopted last year to curb illegal timber trade is already starting to have effect on the market, the EU is still in the process of developing similar …

Congo: Illegal logging in 13 million ha halted … A review undertaken last year as part of the World Bank-sponsored forest sector reform in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) showed that serious problems with illegal logging exist in a major part …

Agri-schemes top driver of forest loss in Cambodia … A recent study estimates that 90 % of Cambodian timber products are derived from forest conversion, a fact that speaks to the country’s rapid loss of forest cover. The main drivers of deforestation are …

NEPCon approved as Sustainable Biomass Partnership certification body … Today, the Sustainable Biomass Partnership (SBP) announced its approval of NEPCon as the world's first SBP …

FSC system updates for FSC CoC certificate holders … Due to the alignment process of the FSC system with the EUTR, FSC chain of custody certified companies face a number of changed and new requirements. Several are effective immediately and need urgent …

New corruption figures: implications for legal timber sourcing … On 5 December 2012, Transparency International released the results of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) …