European NGB Partners
PEFC was founded in 1999 in response to the specific requirements of small- and family forest owners as an international umbrella organization providing independent assessment, endorsement and recognition of national forest certification systems.
Smallholders at our heart, forever
In the 20 years since we were created, we have continually strengthened our approach. An approach that has been adopted by increasing numbers of stakeholders, making PEFC today the world's largest forest certification system. But while we continue to grow, we have never forgotten our roots. We are, and will always be, the certification system of choice for small forest owners, with hundreds of thousands of forest owners certified to PEFC.