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PEFC Zero Deforestation Certification: A Competitive Advantage

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The European Union has issued the Regulation on Deforestation, better known as EUDR, which aims to reduce the production and consumption of products in the EU market that are linked to deforestation and forest degradation. This regulation requires producing companies to demonstrate, through due diligence mechanisms and geolocation, that their products are manufactured legally and without deforestation. The definition of "wood products" covers a wide range of products made in Chile from solid wood and pulp.

PEFC is an international sustainable forest management certification system, a nonprofit organization of European origin that has established new requirements for forest management and the traceability of its derived products, in line with compliance with the EUDR for the marketing of forest-based products. For this purpose, the new due diligence module of the PEFC system, based on third-party audits, aims to reduce the risk of using wood from controversial sources to an insignificant level.

Chile has had a national third-party forest certification system recognized by PEFC for 21 years, and as of February 27, it became the first country in this global alliance to incorporate the new European requirements regarding zero deforestation and degradation into its sustainable forest management standard. This achievement was reached with the goal of early access to the multiple benefits of PEFC certification for the foreign trade of forest products, as well as giving certified companies the opportunity to lead the way toward zero deforestation.

Since Chilean forest certification has effectively regulated zero deforestation and zero forest degradation since 2004, the main adjustment made to the regulations was to explicitly prohibit deforestation and degradation, compliance with which is now verifiable through audits based on the geolocation of forestry operations and digital technology that detects changes from forest to other land uses (deforestation), as well as the replacement of native forests with plantations (degradation), since December 31, 2010.

To ensure the Chilean system is operational from the start of EUDR enforcement (December 31, 2025), the necessary measures are being taken to train and accredit certification bodies and prepare certified companies, so that zero deforestation becomes a sustainability commitment that highlights the high level of forest management achieved in Chile. In other words, rather than being a bureaucratic hurdle, the EUDR should create a competitive advantage for those who are certified.