Descrizione 1
Antonio Brunori (PEFC Italia), Ilaria Dalla Vecchia (FSC), Andres Ortolano Tabolacci (FSC), Valerio Silli, Giovanni Tribbiani (PEFC Italia)
In recent decades, increasing anthropogenic pressure on forest ecosystems—driven in part by the rising use of biomass for bioenergy, technical applications, and construction—has often led to the degradation of natural and semi-natural systems, especially in tropical regions. These trends are frequently associated with unsustainable and/or illegal exploitation of forest resources. The harvesting, processing, and transportation of wood and wood-based products have significant environmental, economic, and social impacts.
Over the last twenty years, political decision-makers, private companies, civil society organizations, and individual citizens have increasingly focused on the sustainable use of forest biomass. This has led to concrete actions and the implementation of effective tools aimed at preventing and mitigating such impacts. Forest certification has emerged as a key instrument to counteract the negative effects and threats to national and global forest resources by promoting practices based on careful planning and monitoring of wood biomass harvesting and management activities.
As of 31 December 2023, the forest area certified in Italy under the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC™) scheme amounted to 984,107 hectares (a 6% increase compared to 2022), while the area certified under the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) scheme totalled 85,214 hectares (an increase of 4% over the previous year).
The growing interest of many companies in certification schemes has fostered the development of public-private partnerships and collaborations, mainly aimed at promoting information and awareness-raising activities, as well as the dissemination of voluntary tools to support sustainable forest management and the adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices—also as a strategy to counter illegal practices.
Among these important tools are forest certification schemes, which refer both to forest management at national and international scales, and to chain of custody (CoC) certification. In recent years, ecosystem services certification—targeting forest and semi-natural ecosystems—has also emerged as an additional instrument. These certifications aim to ensure compliance with core environmental principles of conservation and natural resource management, the maximization of ecosystem services and benefits, and the traceability of forest-based products across all stages of the value chain: from sourcing and processing, to trade and distribution within the forest–wood/paper supply chain.
Certification is a voluntary process through which an independent third-party body (a nationally or internationally accredited certification entity) issues a certificate of forest management or chain of custody.
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In the case of forest management certification, the certificate confirms that management practices for a given forest area comply with specific environmental protection, social equity, and economic efficiency requirements, as defined by a national reference standard.
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In the case of chain of custody certification, the certificate confirms that the path taken by a product—from the forest, or in the case of recycled materials, from the point of recovery—through to its final processing, labeling, and sale, follows international standards that ensure traceability and transparency of wood origin and flow.
Provide a national-level overview of forest resource sustainability through the update and analysis of data related to certified forest areas, according to the two international forest certification schemes: Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes™ (PEFC™).
In order to obtain certification, compliance with the applicable international, national, and regional legislation related to the forest sector is required. Specifically, this includes:
- Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 and its implementing acts (EU Timber Regulation – EUTR);
- A new EU Forest Strategy: for forests and the forest-based sector, COM(2013) 659 final;
- Italian Legislative Decree of 3 April 2018, No. 34, “Consolidated Law on Forests and Forest Supply Chains”.
For the FSC® Forest Management Standard for Italy (FSC-STD-ITA-01-2017 V1-0), compliance refers to Annex A, which includes a list of legal requirements at national, EU, and international levels, divided into the following categories:
- Legal rights to harvest;
- Taxes and fees;
- Timber harvesting activities;
- Third-party rights;
- Trade and transport;
- Due diligence.
From 1 December 2024, the new FSC® National Forest Management Standard for Italy (FSC-STD-ITA-02-2024 V2-0) will officially enter into force and remain valid until its revision. Link to official source
The PEFC™ certification scheme explicitly requires conformity with the:
- UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
- All fundamental International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions on forest management;
- ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.
Descrizione 2
Accredia, PEFC Gestione Forestale Sostenibile (GFS) Servizio Certificazioni di prodotti e servizi (https://www.accredia.it/servizio-accreditato/pefc-gestione-forestale-sostenibile-gfs-2/).
Arma dei Carabinieri, “Foreste D’Italia Inventario Forestale Nazionale”, 2023.
ASI - Assurance Services International was officially established as the accreditation body for FSC in 2006 (https://www.asi-assurance.org/s/post/a1J1H000002JgxN/p0168).
CREA, Terzo inventario forestale nazionale (INFC2015) https://www.sian.it/inventarioforestale/index.do?idNews=10
Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), https://it.fsc.org/it-it
FSC Italia, Certificazione di Gestione Forestale (FM) https://it.fsc.org/it-it/certificazioni/certificazione-di-gestione-forestale
FSC Italia, Certificazione FSC in Italia: il report 2023, https://it.fsc.org/it-it/newsfeed/certificazione-fsc-in-italia-il-report-2023
PEFC Italia, Standard di gestione forestale PEFC Italia https://www.pefc.it/per-le-aziende/documenti/standard-di-gestione-forestale-sostenibile-e-gestione-sostenibile-delle-piantagioni-arboree
PEFC, Report PEFC Italia, venti anni di attività 2001-2021 (https://cdn.pefc.org/pefc.it/media/2021-07/5aca8bc2-677c-46da-872e-0cc0513906c2/c65e5a61-9373-5d7b-95db-9ff2fae8ffc2.pdf)
PEFC, Report PEFC Italia attività 2022, https://cdn.pefc.org/pefc.it/media/2023-03/a8a221e9-085d-44cc-bc8c-09e150bc3197/89991e88-3808-5196-9dc0-af677345857c.pdf
PEFC, Report triennale PEFC 2023, https://cdn.pefc.org/pefc.it/media/2023-12/9a5016c7-eb6a-4648-b31a-dcc05171e738/962289ee-2454-52ae-8353-10c1117bf147.pdf
PEFC, Report PEFC Italia attività 2024, https://cdn.pefc.org/pefc.it/media/2024-03/cd6f09db-d54c-4e90-b518-63f6eaf207d6/8daa550a-0be6-55d8-89e4-5e3e6419196a.pdf; https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://cdn.pefc.org/pefc.it/media/2024-03/9b66f5d5-1c9f-47f8-965b-4cc0ae2d8360/f8820d8c-5e4b-5230-a962-c4b64b8aecb7.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj_iu2NttmJAxWRg_0HHZWbG2EQFnoECCUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw05dplGWVDXZQiqNMMgjYmj
PEFC, Statistiche PEFC in Italia, https://www.pefc.it/scopri-il-pefc/il-pefc-italia/statistiche-pefc-in-italia
Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemesTM (PEFCTM), https://www.pefc.it/
SGS - Servizi di ispezione, verifica, analisi e certificazione. FSC™ forest management certification services are carried out by SGS (https://www.sgs.com/it-it/services/fsc-certificazione-di-gestione-delle-foreste).
WWF, 2015. Foreste che proteggono, Foreste da difendere, a cura di Isabella Pratesi. WWF Italia. Roma (https://wwfit.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/dossier_foreste.pdf)
The two forest management certification systems, although aligned in their overarching goal of safeguarding forest resources and preventing illegality, adopt distinct criteria and standards to define Sustainable Forest Management (SFM).
As a result, certain data and parameters, such as Chain of Custody (CoC) procedures, are not directly comparable across schemes, which may limit the integration or harmonisation of reported information.
Provide additional insights into the governance-based distribution of certified forest areas under the two main certification schemes in Italy.
Qualificazione dati
Information regarding certifications can be obtained directly from the certification bodies, including through their official reports, dedicated publications, press releases, and annual sustainability or activity reports. In particular: Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) e Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes™ (PEFC™).
https://www.pefc.it/scopri-il-pefc/il-pefc-italia/statistiche-pefc-in-italia
https://it.fsc.org/it-it/newsfeed/certificazione-fsc-in-italia-il-report-2023
Italy
1998-2023
Qualificazione indicatore
Update and analysis of historical time series (1998-2023) on the evolution of certified forest area, along with data concerning chain of custody and ecosystem services certification, according to the two international schemes applied in the Italian context: Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC™).
As of 31 December 2023, the forest areas certified under the PEFC and FSC schemes in Italy amounted to 984,107 hectares and 85,214 hectares, respectively. In 2023, PEFC-certified forest area increased by 6% compared to the previous year, while FSC-certified area grew by 4% (Figure 1). Assuming some overlap between schemes due to companies certified under both, and considering the relative proportions, an indicative estimate of the total certified forest area—calculated as the midpoint between theoretical minimum and maximum values—is approximately 1,027 thousand hectares. Overall, based on the estimated national forest area of 11,054,458 hectares (Carabinieri Forestali, 2023), about 9% of Italy’s forests are certified under sustainable forest management schemes.
A growing trend in certified forest area is observed, indicating increased sustainability in the production processes of companies within the forestry sector. Specifically, from 2005 to 2023, the certified forest area has expanded by over 60% (Figure 1). For the PEFC scheme, a generally steady increase is evident up to 2015 (with the exception of 2007), followed by a slight decline during 2016–2017. From 2018 onward, the certified area resumed its upward trajectory, reaching in 2023 a rise of over 30% compared to 2017. The FSC-certified area also shows a generally positive trend, culminating in a record value of over 85,000 hectares in 2023.
Dati
Figure 1: Forest area certified under PEFC and FSC schemes in Italy (1998–2023)
*The estimated national total, which is purely indicative, is calculated as the midpoint between a theoretical minimum (complete overlap) and maximum (no overlap) value.
The indicator in question is part of the core set of SDG indicators, specifically Target 15.2.1 – "Progress towards sustainable forest management", which includes forest area certified under independently verified forest management certification schemes (UN SDG Database). The foundation of international certification systems lies in the shared interest of governments, NGOs, the general public, and companies to protect forest ecosystems and promote the legal and sustainable use of forest biomass.
The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) is a non-governmental organization established in 1993 in the aftermath of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. Its mission is to promote responsible forest management globally. The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes™ (PEFC™) is based on the Criteria and Indicators initially defined during the Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in Europe, held in Helsinki (1993) and Lisbon (1998), which launched the so-called Pan-European Process. This high-level political initiative aims to ensure the protection and sustainable management of European forests.
In Italy, the first FSC certification was granted in 1997 to the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme in Trentino. The first PEFC certification followed in 2004, awarded to the Regional PEFC Association of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, representing 38 forest owners over 67,348 hectares.
As of 31 December 2023, FSC-certified forest area in Italy reached 85,214 hectares, covering 28 certified entities with various types and locations. Regionally, most FSC-certified forests are in Northern (Trentino-Alto Adige, Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia) and Central Italy (Tuscany). In 2023, a new group certification was initiated by Etifor s.r.l Società Benefit, which expanded its certified area from under 100 hectares to approximately 2,800 hectares. Additionally, 466 hectares of cork oak woodlands and Mediterranean maquis in Alà dei Sardi (Sardinia) were certified, marking the first municipal cork oak certification. The final certification of 2023 concerned the Union of Mountain Municipalities of Monviso (Piedmont), grouping five local entities over 887 hectares.
There is a confirmed increase in interest from companies supporting FSC-certified forest areas, largely driven by investments in Ecosystem Services (ES). This trend aligns with the broader adoption of nature-based solutions (NBS) as tangible responses to climate and economic crises. The five FSC-verified Ecosystem Services include:
Carbon sequestration and storage,
Biodiversity conservation,
Watershed services,
Soil conservation,
Recreation and ecotourism.
By the end of 2023, 16 organizations were involved in ES valorization, covering approximately 60,500 hectares, equivalent to about 70% of the total FSC-certified forest area. The most active sectors include packaging (1,354 certified companies, +8% vs. 2022) and indoor/outdoor furniture (690 companies, +8.5%), reflecting the growing importance of ecosystem service benefits to both forest managers and civil society.
FSC Italy was also engaged in the revision of its national forest management standard, initiated in December 2021. The new standard comprises 184 indicators addressing environmental, social, and economic aspects of responsible forest management. Standard revisions are scheduled periodically (every 5 years) to ensure alignment with evolving national contexts and global sustainability challenges (FSC Italy standard revision).
As for PEFC, in 2023, the certified forest area also increased by 6%. A total of 14 Italian regions have at least one PEFC-certified forest. The largest certified area remains in Trentino-Alto Adige (578,964 ha), followed by Friuli Venezia Giulia (96,036 ha). Notably, there has been a 47% increase in Ecosystem Services certifications and a rising number of Chain of Custody (CoC) certified processing companies.
In 2023, 115 companies received new PEFC CoC certification, bringing the total to 1,403, representing an 8.6% increase compared to 2022. This confirms the growing demand from consumers for environmental sustainability assurance, and the proactive role of companies in building a more sustainable future that safeguards natural and semi-natural ecosystems.
Among the most represented industry categories are panel manufacturers (297 companies), surpassing primary wood processors (sawmills), which now count 254 certified entities. It is worth noting that new PEFC Chain of Custody standards were introduced in 2020, further strengthening sustainability criteria and supporting global forest conservation.