The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is an international umbrella organisation that endorses national forest certification systems meeting its requirements. Unlike FSC, which operates a single global standard, PEFC endorses independently developed national schemes that comply with PEFC's international benchmarks. In Germany, the endorsed national scheme is PEFC Deutschland.

Chain of custody (CoC) is the mechanism that allows certified material to be tracked from a certified forest through successive stages of processing and trade to the final product. This article explains how PEFC chain of custody works, what businesses need to demonstrate to hold a certificate, and how the system differs from FSC's approach.

How PEFC Is Structured

PEFC International is headquartered in Geneva and sets the framework requirements that national systems must satisfy to obtain endorsement. As of the date of this article, PEFC has endorsed national schemes in more than 50 countries.

PEFC Deutschland manages the German national scheme. It maintains the German PEFC forest management standards, which are developed through multi-stakeholder processes involving forest owners, environmental organisations, trade unions, and industry representatives. The standards are updated periodically; the current German standards reflect requirements around biodiversity, water protection, soil conservation, and socially responsible forest management.

At the forest level, certification in Germany is often conducted through regional forest owner groups, particularly for small private forest holdings. This group certification model allows individual forest owners with small plots — which is common in southern Germany — to participate in certification without bearing the full cost of individual third-party audits.

Chain of Custody: The Core Mechanism

Chain of custody certification applies to any company that takes custody of certified material and then passes it on, whether in raw, processed, or finished form. The purpose is to maintain a verifiable link between a certified forest origin and a product carrying a PEFC label.

PEFC's chain of custody standard (PEFC ST 2002) sets the requirements for CoC certificate holders. The key elements are:

PEFC CoC Standard — Core Requirements
  • Input control: Certificate holders must be able to identify which incoming material qualifies as PEFC-certified and which does not.
  • Output calculation: The volume or percentage of certified content in outgoing products must be calculated using one of the permitted methods (percentage-based or volume credit).
  • Product labelling: Only products meeting the threshold requirements may carry the PEFC label.
  • Record keeping: Companies must maintain records sufficient to demonstrate compliance to an auditor.
  • Training: Staff handling certified material must be trained on the requirements.

Percentage Method and Volume Credit

PEFC ST 2002 allows two calculation methods for determining the certified content of output products:

Percentage method

Under the percentage method, the proportion of certified input material in a production batch is calculated, and the same proportion of the output is claimed as certified. For example, if 60% of the timber inputs to a sawmill in a given period are PEFC-certified, then up to 60% of the sawn timber output may be sold as PEFC-certified.

Volume credit method

Under the volume credit method, certified and non-certified material can be physically mixed in production. A credit account tracks certified volumes received and debits them as certified products are sold. This method requires careful record keeping but is commonly used in paper and panel manufacturing where physical segregation is impractical.

A third approach, physical separation, requires complete segregation of certified and non-certified material throughout processing. It is the simplest to demonstrate but often impractical in large-scale manufacturing.

PEFC and German Forests

Germany has one of the largest areas of PEFC-certified forests in Europe. Most of Germany's state forests (Staatswald) as well as a significant portion of private forest holdings are covered by PEFC certification. The certification structure in Germany allows regional certification regions (Zertifizierungsregionen) to be certified as groups, with oversight provided by PEFC Deutschland and audits conducted by accredited certification bodies.

Signs marking PEFC-certified forest areas are common across German state forests and are often encountered on hiking trails through Bundesforst and Landesforst areas. The PEFC sign typically carries the PEFC logo alongside local forest authority branding.

Where to verify a PEFC certificate

PEFC certificates can be verified through the online database at pefc.org/find-certified/certified-certificates. A valid certificate will show the company name, certificate scope, and validity period.

PEFC and FSC: Key Differences

Both systems cover forest management and chain of custody certification and are accepted by most major procurement frameworks. Key structural differences include:

  • Governance model: PEFC endorses national schemes with national stakeholder governance; FSC is a single international standard applied globally with national adaptations.
  • Forest owner participation: PEFC has historically been more accessible to small private forest owners in Europe through group certification. FSC has expanded group certification options but FSC remains more common in tropical and plantation forestry globally.
  • Label claims: PEFC uses PEFC-certified and PEFC recycled labels; FSC has FSC 100%, FSC Mix, and FSC Recycled.
  • Controlled sources: FSC has a formal Controlled Wood standard for non-certified inputs. PEFC's equivalent provisions are set out in the CoC standard requirements for non-certified inputs.

Buyers specifying one system over the other should verify which system their specific suppliers hold certificates in. Requiring both in procurement specifications gives the widest field of compliant suppliers.

Further Reading