VPA EU and Republic of the Congo … The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, is the first Central African country to conclude a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union to halt illegal logging and …

NEPCon expands in Western Europe … As of 1st of July 2009, NEPCon is taking over the management of the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood forestry program in all of Europe as well as Russia, Israel and …

FSC group certification of forests: New rules under way … A new FSC standard for group certification of forest operations is being finalized, and FSC sent out the final draft for public …

Controlled Wood - new advice … A new advice note released by FSC seeks to strengthen the foundations of FSC Controlled Wood. …

… FSC and PEFC certificates: Getting the figures right … Forest and …

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 …

PEFC endorses African certification scheme … After a slow start, Africa is now the continent showing the fastest growth in FSC-certified forest area, according to updated maps and figures just released by …

Early impact of Lacey Act … The landmark US Lacey Act, adopted last year in its current form, has already shown that it is capable of transforming the approach of companies to make sure of the legality of traded wood …

Norwegian printer FSC and PEFC certified … Almost symbolically headquartered in an old mansion located deep in the Norwegian forests, Grøset Trykk is the first and only printing house in Norway to offer FSC or PEFC labelling of printed …

RA accredited for VCS … The Rainforest Alliance is the first FSC-certifier to be fully accredited as a forestry verifier to the Voluntary Carbon Standard …

Danish bindery FSC-certified … With an FSC chain of custody certificate in place, the bindery D. …

Russian PEFC scheme endorsed … On the 5th of March, PEFC announced its endorsement of the forest certification scheme "Russian National Forest Certification System" (PEFC-FCR).  …

New reports: green buying still on the rise … Responsible business pays off: Two recent reports confirm that green consumerism is still growing across the Northern Hemisphere, even in the face of the global economic …

Illegal forestry in Brazil revealed … According to the International Tropical Timber Organization, ITTO, a multi-million illegal logging operation has been detected in the Brazilian state of …

Market Initiative trend report 2009 … The organization Market Initiative has released a report focusing on environmental leadership in the paper supply chain The organization calls for green innovation of the sector, and provides examples of fruntrunners …

Large fund invests in responsible forestry … The large Danish pension fund ATP, with a total investment portfolio of more than 50 billion EUR, is planning to invest about 400 million EUR in purchase of …

Volvo support FSC … Well-known for its commitment to car safety, Swedish car maker Volvo is also focused on other aspects of responsible car …

… New CoC standard for forest operations … Based on the Forest …

Stiff penalties for illegal logging in EU … Traders in illegal timber products are probably facing hard times in the EU. …

Södra to offer FSC to its members … Due to increasing demands for FSC certified timber, the Swedish forest group Södra is preparing to provide its members with the opportunity to become FSC certified under a group scheme, either as part of a dual …