EU furniture exporters to require certification by 2013

MANILA, Philippines - Furniture exporters who wish to continue exporting to the European Union needs to get the Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody (FSC CoC) certification.

The Certification will serve as legal compliance under the European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (EU-FLEGT) which will be fully enforced from March 2013.

 “In order for the local furniture exporters to maintain their exports to the European market, they need to comply urgently with the FSC CoC Certification” Evelyn Dofredo said Management Systems Auditor of SGS Philippines, Inc in a recent information campaign for furniture exporters organized by the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines (CFIP).

The FSC CoC certification is for operations that manufacture, process or trade in timber or non-timber forest products. It traces the legal origin and responsible management of forests as the source of timber for furniture or any wood-based products.  This allows credible tracking of FSC material from the forest through all successive stages of the production process, to committed retailers and consumers, she added.

This certification also provides higher profits for the company. Furniture products that carry the FSC CoC logo can command premium rates because consumers are not just paying for the product, but also for the social benefits they can get from it, she stressed.

The FSC label thus provides the link between responsible production and consumption and thereby enables the consumers to make socially – and environmentally-responsible purchasing decisions.

Further, she said that it promotes environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests by establishing a worldwide standard recognized and respected principles of Forest Stewardship.

Compliance also addresses the environmental impacts of the industry through the protection of waterways, wildlife habitat and species; high conservation value forests; and monitoring of forest management practices.

Through the FSC CoC certification, the company can likewise demonstrate commitment to traceability in the supply chain, satisfy customer demand, continuously improve corporate image and improve access to environmentally sensitive markets like the European market.

FSC is an international, independent, not-for-profit, and non-government organization based in Bonn, Germany. It is a market-based tool for forest conservation.

As of date, the Philippines has only four FSC CoC certified companies while there are 177 in Vietnam and 500 in China.

Dofredo said that products that are FSC CoC certified are already present in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and most of the Western countries like France and UK, to name a few.  Unfortunately, there is no certified forest yet in the Philippines, she added.

 “The furniture sector really needs this FSC CoC certification. Buyers will require that sources of wood be sustainable. If we will not act now, we will be left out of competition,” Salvio Valenzuela, Executive Director of CFIP, said.

He likewise encouraged furniture exporters to meet individually with FSC CoC certifying body to help in their compliance.