Newsroom

For the last three years, we have been working to support the legal timber trade in Vietnam, together with our partner SFMI, a Vietnamese NGO working on forest science and related topics.

The FSC Controlled Wood standard has been significantly revised and strengthened. All Controlled Wood-certified organisations have to be re-audited to the new standard by 1 July 2017. NEPCon is among the first organisations to be approved to audit against this new standard. The first…

(Updated: On 17 November 2017 ASI announced the reversal of the suspension decision of NEPCon’s FSC accreditation in Russia. This is followed by…

A recent court case from Sweden helps clarify the level of due diligence required by companies looking to place timber from Myanmar on the EU market.

The risk assessment process can be difficult to grasp. Different systems use different terms for risks, and understand risks in different ways – below we will try to provide a clear overview of how risk assessments and Forestry Risk Profiles can be used effectively to avoid illegal…

Installing insulation is one of the simplest things homeowners can do to be more eco-friendly. Insulation helps to reduce energy consumption, thus lowering greenhouse gas emissions and also cutting down energy bills.

The Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) and the Rainforest Alliance (RA) have recently launched a revised agriculture certification standard. The Standard raises the bar on sustainability standards with a focus on tackling deforestation, climate-smart agriculture and continuous farm…

The study “Supply Chain Mapping of Malaysian Timber and Wood-based Industries” seeks to provide an overview of the Malaysian timber trade and offer insights into specific supply chains in the timber sector. Malaysian timber companies, institutional investors and other stakeholders can…

On 30 August 2016, NEPCon and our Vietnamese partner SFMI launched an online training platform on FLEGT - the EU’s programme aimed at combatting illegal logging, improving forest management and promoting legal timber trade.

Hernesaaren Löyly has become Finland’s first building project that obtains FSC Project Certification. The story behind this successful public sauna gives project owners and contractors a better understanding of this lesser-known FSC certification type. 

Hanoi (30 August 2016) – Today NEPCon and SFMI launch an online training platform providing knowledge and ready-to-use tools on timber legality for Vietnamese timber enterprises and relevant stakeholders. This is part of the project “Increasing capacity of civil society organisations (…

The EFTA Surveillance Authority has recognised NEPCon as a Monitoring Organisation (MO) in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries. 

Our website is moved to the new address www.nepcon.org as of 1 June 2016. This move is necessary to ensure that we align our domain name with the type of organisation that NEPCon is today: a not-for-profit organisation.   

On 9 May 2016, GTS and NEPCon launch a new integrated service combining supply chain data management with legal expertise on EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) compliance and responsible timber sourcing. This service will benefit companies who are seeking a high quality supply chain…

Danish furniture importer Philip Rafn of Furnhouse can testify to the serious work that it takes to comply with the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). Even so, he finds the investment made sense, in terms of business and company ethics.    
 

A new version of FSC’s Controlled Wood (CW) Standard addresses major weaknesses as part of a long-pending overhaul of the CW system. FSC certificate holders sourcing CW should brace themselves for significant change. Here is an overview for starters.

IKEA Industry Poland Wielbark is the first Polish company to achieve Sustainable Biomass Partnership (SBP) certification. The certificate is a new milestone in the company’s effort to meet IKEA’s sustainability goals.

FSC’s ambitious project to map the global risk of unacceptable forest activities has reached a new milestone. With the first 20 countries almost completed, FSC now continues with 33 more. China and Indonesia are among the next countries coming into the spotlight.  

One of Latvia's largest softwood sawmill companies, AKZ SIA, has earned a Sustainable Biomass Partnership (SBP) certificate for its wood pellet production. AKZ relies on FSC certified material and FSC Controlled Wood to prove the responsible origin of their feedstock. 

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Despite tough challenges, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Cameroon are working hard to deliver the   assurance of timber legality required by their European business partners. Their latest tactic is to form a new national federation to…