2021 confirmed the good things seen in 2020. The growth in environmental sensitivity on the part of the consumer, increasingly aware of the climate emergency, has increased interest in tools that can safeguard the planet's resources. PEFC certification is one of the tools identified for the protection of forests which are the main bulwark against climate change.
This has prompted companies to source from PEFC certified forests and to choose raw materials deriving from these forests to give the consumer a product that can meet their sustainability demands.
PEFC Chain of Custody certified companies are growing
There are 134 companies that obtained PEFC chain of custody certification in 2021 or a +8.4% going from 1179 CoC certified companies in 2020 to 1278 in 2021 (net of losses).The sectors that have recorded the greatest development are that of the first part of the supply chain, i.e. forest companies and the production of firewood and other fuels (pellets, wood chips, etc.), the construction sector, which rightly sees wood as a sustainable and renewable material if it comes from well-managed and PEFC certified forests. The building industry brings with it a vast number of productions such as laminated wood, panels, floors, fixtures, etc. which are also growing. Other sectors that have seen growth are paper packaging and furniture components .
PEFC Sustainable Forest Management still growing
2021 also saw an increase in the PEFC certified forest area in Italy. It went from 889,032.60 hectares in 2020 to 892,609.63 with the entry of certification into two new regions, namely Liguria and Calabria, bringing the coverage of the regions to 13, with Trentino-Alto Adige confirming the largest certified surface. The communication of the certification of the Presidential Estate of Castelporziano was also of considerable prominence. It was the last GFS certificate issued in 2020, but it was only possible to communicate it in 2021 with considerable resonance given the importance of the certification. Furthermore, two experimental projects have been completed which have seen the energies of forest managers and two large companies unite. In May, the Findus project was completed, which supported the certification of the "Monti Cimini and Other Forest Districts of Lazio" Group, and in November it was the turn of the certification of the Municipality of Rocca di Papa (RM) with the support of Carte d'Or (Algida). Two important examples of synergy between the forest world and industry that is committed to protecting the Italian forest heritage.The first certification of PEFC Ecosystem Services has been issued
ForestaAmica of Coldiretti Belluno received the certificate from CSQA for the protection of Biodiversity carried out thanks to the forest management activity of one of its members, Veneto Agricoltura. It is an area of 1,292 hectares in which the autochthonous beech forest predominates, which developed on carbonate substrates, but in which there are also alpine conifers, such as spruce and silver fir. The "Forest of the Doges" is the first area certified for the ecosystem service of biodiversity protection according to the brand new PEFC standard, released in its first version in August 2021.
The 2022 report of the activities carried out by PEFC Italia is available here
Here is the video presentation of the data. (Source: PEFC Italy )