Austrian public buyers to focus on FSC and PEFC
Austria has launched a new action plan for green public procurement that stresses the importance of certification to get proper assurance for the responsible origin of wood products.
For most wood-based products - ranging from virgin paper to office utensils, flooring, baseboards and construction materials – legality assurance is the baseline requirement. Assurance of sustainable forest management is required ‘if possible’. FSC and PEFC certification and FLEGT licenses are the only options specified for assurance of sustainable forestry.
For furniture, only legality assurance is required. The Austrian action plan mentions that legal origin may be ensured via voluntary traceability systems. In contrast with the Danish procurement policy, the Austrian policy does not refer to well-established third-party timber legality verification schemes, although these are obvious solutions for credible legality assurance.
The focus on FSC and PEFC certification for proof of responsible forest management is similar to the approach adopted by several other European public timber procurement policies, including e.g. the UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
