Legality verification systems

There are several legality verification systems operating; these systems are not approved forest certification schemes like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC), but may be used to ensure legality and traceability of wood and timber products.

This section aims to provide an overview of the voluntary legality verification systems available and clarification on NGO initiatives. Furthermore, it provides advice on their relation to meeting the UK Government public procurement policy and the EU Illegal Timber Regulation.  The information provided in this Legality verification section is based on the Briefing note ‘An overview of legality verification systems’ prepared by Proforest, February 2011. The briefing note is available for download here.

Please note that the information provided in this section is correct as of February 2011, but availability of systems and what they deliver is constantly changing. CPET welcome comments on this section and should be contacted for any recent updates.