Panels & Furniture March/April 2022

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
Adopting
three pillars of
sustainability
for furniture
SDG 12: Responsible consumption
and production. Achieving economic
growth and sustainable development
requires that we urgently reduce our
ecological footprint by changing the
way we produce and consume goods
and resources. The second is SDG
15: Life on land. Forests cover 30%
of the Earth’s surface, provide vital
habitats for millions of species, and
are important sources for clean air
and water, as well as being crucial for
combating climate change.
industry
By Ken Hickson
It is worth reminding ourselves that
the furniture or furnishings industry
is the third-highest user of wood in
the world, behind the construction
and paper industries. This means
that demand for certified forestbased
materials such as paper and
timber is increasing.
This is where sustainable forest
management (SFM) comes in, and
why it is important for everyone in
the furniture supply chain.
SUSTAINABLE FOREST
MANAGEMENT
So exactly what do we mean by SFM?
Forests cover 30% of
the Earth’s surface
and provide vital
habitats for millions
of species (Image:
Suryawan)
When you make and sell — or even
sit on — a wooden chair, do you take
time to think about where the wood
has come from? Which species? Which
forest? Who cut down the tree?
When you watch a television
commentator or a Zoom conference
attendee working from home, sitting
in front of an imposing bookcase, do
you wonder where the timber came
from to make that item of furniture
to house those titles?
There are at least two Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) by the
United Nations (UN) that should
be on the minds of all furniture
manufacturers, suppliers and
retailers over the world. The first is
Forest Europe, the Ministerial
Conference on the protection of
forests in Europe, came up with this
definition which has been adopted
by the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO): “The stewardship
and use of forests and forest lands in
a way, and at a rate, that maintains
their biodiversity, productivity,
regeneration capacity, vitality and
their potential to fulfil, now and
in the future, relevant ecological,
economic and social functions, at
local, national, and global levels, and
that does not cause damage to other
ecosystems.”
For the Programme for the
Endorsement of Forest Certification
(PEFC), SFM is the benchmark
standard for national forest
certifications. It sets out the
requirements that national
20 Panels & Furniture Asia | March / April 2022