PEFC Certification
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An Overview of PEFC Certification in India
Are you an entrepreneur with a desire in the heart to ensure legal and sustainable sourcing of forest products? If yes, PEFC Certification in India is something that can help you fulfil your desire. The Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF) is the body that governs PEFC (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification) in India.
PEFC crucially gives evidence of sustainable forest management, enabling forest owners and managers to demonstrate practices they apply in the forest. Moreover, PEFC certification also demonstrates compliance with legislative requirements, including the EU Timber Regulation (EITR), the US Lacey Act, and the Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation.
Are you ready to take the next step towards sustainability? Get expert consultation from Corpbiz and begin your journey towards PEFC certification in India, which is a voluntary, market-based instrument implemented through two separate processes providing for sustainable forest management (SFM) certification and chain of custody certification.
What is PEFC?
PEFC, which stands for Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification, is a global alliance of forest certification schemes created in 1999 to promote sustainable forest management. It acts as a leading global alliance in the national forest certification system. It is an international non-profit NGO that ensures the promotion of sustainable forest management through independent third-party certification.
PEFC ensures maintaining a comprehensive database for easy access to relevant information about certificate holders, logo & label users, certified products, accredited certification bodies (i.e., NCCF- Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests), and PEFC endorsed national certification schemes. PEFC comprises three domains of sustainable development, i.e., environmental, social, and economic, which requires forest biodiversity to be maintained.
PEFC certification is considered the most reputed and largest carrier of substantiality managed products, which enables the fulfilment of environmental & social obligations and economic development in the region.
Purpose of PEFC Certification in India
The purpose of the grant of PEFC certification in India is to enable the businesses to promote their responsible forest management and the chain of custody of woods- based products. Moreover, the PEFC certification further aims at encouraging local or national certification systems to independently develop and make decisions in setting standards.
To participate in PEFC, the companies must meet and comply with the established sustainability benchmarks, principles, guidelines, and criteria. Simply, PEFC certification rewards good practices in all domains of sustainable development.
Types of PEFC Certification in India
The different types of PEFC certification in India are as discussed below:
1. PEFC Forest Management Certification (FMC)
PEFC Forest Management Certification (FMC) is a long-term process that gives you independent recognition of your responsible management practices. It certifies the management of forests and other associated aspects like biodiversity conservation, soil and water protection, and respect for local communities.
2. PEFC Chain of Custody Certification (CoC)
PEFC Chain of Custody (CoC) certification, which enables developing and implementing procedures to develop and implement procedures to account for purchasing, tracking, manufacturing, sale, and recordkeeping of certified materials. It ensures tracking of forest-based products throughout the supply chain.
Benefits of PEFC Registration
The benefits of PEFC registration enable businesses to adopt and undertake sustainable initiatives to boost forestry and environmental ecology. Some of the benefits of PEFC certification are discussed below:
1. Meeting Customer Expectations
The grant of PEFC certification ensures meeting the escalating customer demands and expectations seeking sustainable options. Moreover, it provides tangible evidence to potential customers, encouraging them to validate the sustainability claims.
2. Promotes Responsible Business Practices
The grant of online PEFC certification ensures the promotion of responsible business practices across its business units, enabling business sustainability that contributes towards economic development within the region.
3. Promotes Sustainable Management
Online PEFC certification promotes the sustainable management of forests and their products in accordance with the challenging environmental, social, and economic requirements, balancing the PEFC sustainability benchmarks.
4. Recognition of Global Forest Products
Online PEFC certification guarantees recognizing the significant growth of global forest products, ensuring customers choose confidently and source products that have been independently verified as sustainably managed.
Market Size of PEFC Certification
The rapid growth of PEFC has become the world’s largest certification system. Currently, more than 28, 800 companies and organizations have achieved PEFC chain of custody certification, which accounts for one-third of all chains of global custody. Around 20,000 companies in the world benefit from PEFC chain of custody certification.
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Eligibility Criteria to Consider for PEFC Certification
The following is the list of entities eligible to consider PEFC certification, as discussed below:
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Documents Required for Online PEFC Certification in India
The list of documents required to apply for online PEFC certification in India is as discussed below:
- Forest management plan
- Supply chain records
- Environmental and social policies
- Internal audit reports and records
- Name and address of the client organization
- Traceability and certification records
- Sustainable forest management or CoC policies
- Labelling and trademark documents
- Other necessary documents (if required)
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How to Apply for PEFC Registration in India?
The process to apply for PEFC registration in India is explained below:
1. Comply with PEFC Certification Requirements
The applicant must initially comply with and review the PEFC certification standards and requirements for obtaining a PEFC certification from the accredited certification body.
2. Contact PEFC National Office
Next, the applicant must get in touch with the PEFC national office in your country or an accredited PEFC international certification body to seek guidance and initiate the certification process.
3. Submission of Application Form
The applicants seeking PEFC registration in India must make submission of the completed application form and required documents to the accredited certification body (i.e., NCCF).
4. Pre-Assessment of Forest Management Practices
The Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests, i.e., NCCF Secretariat, is further authorized to conduct pre-assessment of forest management practices as specified in the application duly submitted.
5. Conduct an Internal Audit
The accredited certification body, i.e., NCCF, must further conduct an internal audit to identify gaps and make any necessary adjustments before scheduling the official certification audit.
6. Arrange Certification Audit
The accredited certification body, i.e., NCCF, must further schedule a certification audit to verify the compliance and non-compliance during the audit.
7. Receive PEFC Certification
Upon successful audit completion, the applicants must sign a logo usage/ trademark contract to receive their online PEFC certification, allowing access to the PEFC labels.
8. PEFC Label on Certified Products
After the issuance of online PEFC certification, the applicants must display or use the label on certified products, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability and the status of their supply chain.
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PEFC Compliance with ILO Conventions
The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification requires PEFC compliance with core ILO conventions, even in countries not ratified.
- ILO Convention No. 29: Forced Labour Convention, 1930
- ILO Convention No. 87: Freedom of Association and Protection of Rights to Organize Convention, 1948
- ILO Convention No. 98: Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949
- ILO Convention No. 100: Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951
- ILO Convention No. 105: Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957
- ILO Convention No. 111: Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958
- ILO Convention No. 138: Minimum Age Convention, 1973
- ILO Convention No. 182: Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999
What is the Difference Between PEFC and FSC?
Have a look over the difference between PEFC and FSC, as discussed below:
| S. No. | Aspect | PEFC | FSC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abbreviation | Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification | Forest Stewardship Council |
| 2 | Meaning | PEFC is an international non-profit organization which mainly focuses on the eco-sustainability of forest products through traceability of the production process and chain monitoring. | FSC is a global organization which promotes responsible stewardship and ensures maintaining environmental, social, and economic standards by focusing on forest management and chain of custody. |
| 3 | Purpose | PEFC essentially builds on FSC to facilitate certification of sustainable forests. | FSC ensures preventing illegal consumption of timber and is more focused on environmental aspects. |
| 4 | Third or Second-Party Certification | PEFC is a third-party certification. | FSC is a second-party certification. |
| 5 | Bottom-Up or Top-Down Approach | PEFC has a bottom-up approach, i.e., a forum made up of organizations of concern for formulating its standards. | FSC uses a top-down approach, having developed its standards for all countries. |
| 6 | Scale | PEFC covers around 260 million hectares of PEFC certified forests. | FSC covers around 230 million hectares of certified forests. |
| 7 | Certificate Type | The types of PEFC certificates issued include Forest Management, Chain of Custody, and Project Certification. | The types of FSC certificates issued include Forest Management, Chain of Custody, and Controlled Goods. |
Validity of Online PEFC Certification
The online PEFC certification is usually valid for a period of up to 5 years, depending upon the submission of forests annual surveillance audit to confirm whether your operation continues to complies with the chain of custody requirements. The process for renewal of online PEFC certification requires the applicant to undergo a re-certification audit upon its expiry.
Cost for PEFC Registration
The cost of obtaining a PEFC chain of custody certification (CoC) or PEFC Forest Management Certification (FSC) depends upon the fact that it is fixed by individual certification bodies. The cost to apply for PEFC registration in India is in the range of 60,000 to 1,20,000. It may further extend or vary as per your requirements.
Timeline to Get PEFC Certification in India
The timeline to get PEFC certification in India depends on a number of variables, including company size and the complexity of the chain of custody. It takes around 1 week to get a PEFC certification.
Why Trust Corpbiz for Online PEFC Certification?
Choose Corpbiz to enjoy the right partnership, which crucially ensures smooth, efficient, and successful PEFC registration in India. Get in touch with our team of experts offering online PEFC certification services.
Frequently Asked Questions
PEFC certification is a voluntary, market-based instrument implemented through two separate processes providing for sustainable forest management (SFM) certification and chain of custody certification.
FSC is a global organization that promotes responsible stewardship and ensures maintaining the environmental, social, and economic standards by focusing on forest management and chain of custody, whereas PEFC is an international non-profit organization that mainly concentrates on the eco-sustainability of forest products through traceability of production process and chain monitoring.
The main objective of PEFC certification is to ensure the protection of our forests by promoting sustainable forest management through certification. Moreover, PEFC aims to encourage local or national certification systems to independently develop and make decisions in setting standards.
The 70% certified label represents/ signifies that at least 70% of the materials used in the PEFC-certified product are extracted from forests and trees.
Yes, PEFC certification is trustworthy as it mutually recognizes the scheme where it assesses each country’s independent forestry management schemes against international criteria.
PEFC stands for Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification, which is an international non-profit organization that mainly focuses on sustainable forest management and supply chain monitoring.
FSC 100% certified represents all materials from fully-managed FSC certified forests. The products with 100% FSC label generally contribute to our mission to ensure thriving forest availability for all.
The PEFC-certified products that come from sustainably managed forests include products that carry PEFC labels like household items, furniture, DIY, fashion items, food products, packaging products, etc.
Online PEFC certification is important for meeting the escalating customer demands and expectations, seeking sustainable options, recognizing global forest products, promoting responsible business practices, and sustainable management of forests.
The PEFC standards include guidelines that lay requirements for chain of custody certification for forest and tree-based products.
The PEFC logo is a label put over the product/ forest-based materials extracted from PEFC certified forests, managed in line with the strictest environmental, social and economic requirements.
Authors
Written by Aarya Pokharel. Last updated on Nov 11 2025, 09:46 PM
Aarya Pokharel brings 3 years of solid experience in legal research and compliance. Her expertise spans tax filing, secretarial compliances, and advisory services, with a strong focus on delivering precise legal research and strategic advisory support.
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