A practical guide to CITES for EU timber traders … If you are importing timber into the EU, you should be aware of the species listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as well as permit …

What’s your experience with Due Diligence and EUTR? … NEPCon is encouraging EU-based companies working in the timber sector to share their experience with Due Diligence and the EU Timber Regulation …

NEPCon expands course offerings to India and Ghana … India and Ghana have been added to NEPCon’s extensive list of training locations. Earlier this year – for the first time in these two countries – we delivered training on FSC™ and Rainforest Alliance …

Danish regulator questions sale of Myanmar teak … The Danish Competent Authority last week required seven companies to make improvements to their due diligence systems if they are to sell teak imported from Myanmar on the EU market. The case raises …

The Rainforest Alliance and NEPCon disassociate from Woodcert … On 1 October 2018 , NEPCon (Nature Economy and People Connected) acquired the certification and auditing division of the Rainforest Alliance. NEPCon is an international non-profit …

Timber legality verification well received in Brazil … Earlier this year, IPA (Indústria de Pisos da Amazônia or Amazon Flooring Corporation) made the decision to engage with the Rainforest Alliance program for Verification of Legal Origin (VLO), based on …

Marketing toolkit to highlight your engagement with FSC … Drawing inspiration from the vision of “One FSC”, FSC has released a new campaign known as Together We Are FSC. This campaign is designed to empower certificate holders globally how FSC helps their …

NEPCon joins Danish Alliance for Sustainable Soy … Environmental organisations, government agencies and businesses have joined forces in the fight against the import of unsustainable …

The importance of transparency and traceability towards zero deforestation   … The Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Sustainability Policy Transparency Toolkit (SPOTT) recently evaluated the transparency of 97 companies from the timber and pulp …

Impact Tourism: Giving time, talent, and treasure … Our NEPCon Travel Feed profile on Tripadvisor is now live and we are pleased to have our friends from the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) to write an article in line with our opening theme “impact …

How audits go virtual, auditors tell … Two months after we shifted to remote audits, our auditors reflect on the challenges they have encountered, and steps taken to address these and help develop robust remote audits for a post-pandemic new …

Coming soon: FSC certification for ecosystem services … A sustainably managed forest offers more than sustainable timber and non-timber forest products. It can also provide other ‘ecosystem services’, such as locking up carbon, protecting water supplies …

Sustainability Framework “a goldmine,” says Tetra Pak … The newly launched Sustainability Framework, described as ‘a Swiss Army Knife of due diligence’, is already earning brownie points. Tetra Pak and Procter & Gamble (P&G) were in for a trial – and both …

Realising best practice with multi-stakeholder governance … The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) was initially developed and governed by energy companies with an interest in using woody biomass to replace coal and gas. Earlier this year, SBP changed its …

FSC: Blockchain “across the board” in five years … The pioneering ecolabel has been struggling with repeated criticism of its Chain of Custody standard, which has found itself open to fraud and falsification. Now, a pilot test using secure blockchain …

Final guidance on the PEFC Chain of Custody requirements … PEFC has released the final version of its guidance on the PEFC Chain of Custody Standard PEFC ST 2002:2013. It includes several important amendments and …

FSC trademarks: simplify standards, boost the brand … Ultimately, it’s all about responsible forest management and credible eco-labelling. But we’ve come to a point where we can’t see the trees for the labels. Carsten Huljus, Director of GFA …

Green building - a key driver of timber certification … The use of timber in green construction is a growing trend worldwide.  Backed by innovative techniques, its eco-friendly characteristics spell golden times for  sustainable timber as a sought-after …

FSC Policy for Association in action: for better or for worse? … For the second time in two years, FSC has used its Policy for Association to disassociate from a leading timber trader. We take a close look at the impact and repercussions of the …

FSC General Assembly 2014: key outcomes … As the FSC General Assembly 2014 unfolded, the temperature went up and down, perhaps reflecting the emotional state of the participants. Despite discords, there was consensus that FSC needs to modernise, to …