Australia and New Zealand move on joint trans-Tasman forest management standard

News

AUSTRALIA and New Zealand are closer to developing a joint trans-Tasman standard for forest management following a joint meeting between the boards of Responsible Wood and the New Zealand Forest certification Association (NZFCA) in Wellington last week. Responsible Wood and the NZFCA operate PEFC-endorsed sustainable forest management systems in Australia and New Zealand respectively. A significant outcome of the meeting…

Short 30 second video on Certification

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A few years back Forests and Wood Products Australia prepared a short 30 second TV Ad to promote Forest Certification in Australia. It was never used on their TV campaign. FWPA has kindly opened their archive vault, and updated it with our new logo –  enjoy the video.  We thought you might like to be aware of it. Click Here…

Update – Reforms to the illegal logging laws (February 2018)

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The following is an extract from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources Website In October 2017, the government announced several reforms to the Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012. These were intended to streamline and clarify the Regulation’s due diligence requirements. The key reform was the establishment of a new ‘deemed to comply’ arrangement for products certified under the Forest…

Responsible Wood wins gold in international brand contest

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A GOLD medal award in an international branding competition has added to the Australia-wide success of the Responsible Wood campaign. The Responsible Wood logo won best brand and best design agency in the Oceania region in the 5thInternational Best Brands contest, which honours excellence in design around the world. Since Australian Forestry Standard changed its name to Responsible Wood in…

New Amendment to Australian Standard AS 4707- Chain of Custody for Forest Products

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Responsible Wood  has released a new amendment to AS 4707- Chain of Custody for Forest Products. The amendment provides a change to the definition of “producer groups”. Producer groups are typically groupings of small to medium businesses that collaborate to operate a group chain of custody scheme.  Group certification allows sharing of costs between group members and provides a very…

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Amended PEFC Standard for Sustainable Forest Management out for Public Comment

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The draft of the PEFC Sustainable Forest Management Meta-Standard has been released for public comment.  The Meta-Standard provides the base document against which all PEFC endorsed National Standards must align.  It provides requirements for performance and sustainability indicators.  The amended draft provides new performance requirements for the sustainable management of trees located outside of forests and micro-forestry.  Such sources of…

Responsible Wood director appointed to judge Sustainable Timber Award at World Architecture Festival

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AWARD-winning Brisbane eco-architect Mark Thomson and Responsible Wood Director has been appointed to the international judging panel at the World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam, the world’s largest global gathering of the architectural elite. The festival, dedicated to celebrating, sharing and inspiring outstanding architecture, is the only architecture event where keynote talks from the industry’s most influential figures sit alongside live…

Responsible Wood 2018 Photo Contest

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AS governing body for PEFC international in Australia, Responsible Wood is again promoting a nation-wide photo contest, aimed at further raising awareness of the importance of sustainable forest management and certification. CEO Simon Dorries said the contest theme – ‘experience forests, experience PEFC’ – would enable participants to submit photos that fit this theme. “This could embrace many topics, from…

Excellent presentation from Planet Ark on the positive health effects of using wood

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Today I saw one of the best presentations I have ever seen. Planet Ark presented their new report into the positive health effects of using wood.  Using wood and other natural materials is called biophilic design and is proven to reduce stress, increase attentiveness and productivity and improve overall well being. Read the report on the link below: http://makeitwood.org/documents/doc-1501-wood—nature-inspired-design-report-final.pdf Also…

Responsible Wood Chair recognised in the Australia Day Honours

News

Dr Hans Driesma, a respected forester and Chair of Responsible Wood who has contributed enormously to the global acceptance of forest management and certification has been awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in the Australia Day Honors. Hobart-based Dr Johannes (Hans) Drielsma, chair, Responsible Wood, has played a leading role in the development of the Australian Forest Certification Scheme, and…