YBhg. Dato’ / Dr. / Sir / Madam,
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) entered into force on 29 June 2023 and the new rules will become applicable as of 30 December 2024. A legislation that mandates operators and traders within the EU to ensure their products do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation globally, the implementation of EUDR affects Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and PEFC endorsed certifications.
In line with that, PEFC is revising its Sustainable Forest Management standard (ST 1003) to assist its certificate holders to align with the EUDR requirements. In soliciting for feedback on what may be viable and feasible, a public consultation has been launched by PEFC and is ongoing until 13 July 2024. All stakeholders are invited and strongly encouraged to submit your feedback and views on its website:
The main gaps identified are:
- Definitions
- Deforestation cut-off date
- Geolocation
- Due Diligence System (DDS) and extended information requirements
- EU Country Benchmarking
- Extended information requirements (geolocation, full scientific name)
- Information capture (due diligence statement)
- Competent Authorities and Customs from EU Member States to conduct annual checks
- Traders or companies to check validity of identification number from EU dataase
The changes to PEFC’s ST 1003 will also directly impact the stakeholders of Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). To ensure our Malaysian timber product remains competitive in the market, we urge all relevant stakeholders and any potential stakeholders to provide your feedback and comments for consideration during this revision process.
The Feedback Form can be accessed through this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CPNGKV9
A special information webinar, open to everyone, will also be held by PEFC on 12 June 2024, to introduce the proposed modifications and answer any questions. The webinar takes place at 09:00 and 15:00 CEST on 12 June 2024. The webinar is one hour and will include an open questions and answers session. Please note, you only need to register for one webinar.
Register for the 09:00 (CEST) / 15:00 (MYT) session:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_41ubv5KJS_-JY1GLNJLqBQ#/registration
Register for the 15:00 (CEST) / 21:00 (MYT) session: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bqRc1pSmReW4OWeUX9xHCA#/registration
MTCC will also organise follow-up sessions on the public consultation – more details to come soon!