Programs used in Canada

Certifying Forest Management Practices

Canadian forest managers can certify their forest management practices to any of three internationally recognized certification programs:

  • Canadian Standards Association (CSA) (Withdrawn)

    This standard, formerly owned and administered by CSA Group, is withdrawn. PEFC Canada now has ownership of the technical content of the withdrawn standard and has revised the certification system in line with PEFC requirements. The PEFC Canada Certification system is now undergoing the PEFC International assessment process, which includes a consultation period and is carried out by an independent PEFC Registered Assessor. It must pass this process and be approved by the PEFC General Assembly before it can achieve endorsement. 

     Certifications completed under the withdrawn CSA Z809 standard remain valid during this transition.

    The most current information on the PEFC International assessment of the PEFC Canada Forest Certification System can be found on the  PEFC Canada website (www.pefccanada.org).

     For enquiries, please contact PEFC Canada at info@pefccanada.org

  • Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
  • Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)

These standards are applied voluntarily and involve significant commitments towards environmental, social and economic sustainability.  They are applied on top of mandatory requirements that make up the comprehensive legal framework under which Canadian forests are managed.

Each of these standards is endorsed as following international principles, criteria and objectives that are viewed as the basis of sustainable forest management:

Certifying an Environmental Management System

Canadian forest managers can also certify the environmental management system they use to systematically set and achieve environmental goals, then improve upon them.  The voluntary, internally recognized standard is used for this is ISO 14001