Asia Pacific has Six Finalists in the Running for the World Architecture Festival prize for the Best Use of Certified Timber

12 September 2021

?The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has unveiled the eight finalists for this year’s Best Use of Certified Timber Prize, supported by PEFC, with six from Asia Pacific. Two finalists are from Australia and one each from Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan and Hong Kong/China. There were 22 built environment projects entered, spreading from the Americas and Europe to Africa, Asia and Oceania. While all these buildings have their use of certified timber in common, their style and purpose vary widely: from higher education and research to community spaces and sports facilities, to name only a few. Go here to see which projects were shortlisted.

Read the rest of the highlights in the September issue of the Media News Bulletin for PEFC by Ken Hickson

Forests are Home: Sustainable Wood Furniture Campaign?

PEFC's launches its global Sustainable Wood Furniture Campaign on Wednesday, 15 September, at 4pm (Singapore time) or 10am (Central European Summer Time), as a Zoom webinar and live on Facebook and YouTube. The one-hour program will feature a panel discussion on the responsible sourcing of forest-based materials for wood furniture. Participating are four incredible panellists, who will share perspectives, and discuss the challenges to, and opportunities for, sustainability in the furniture sector. The webinar is free to join, register now!

?Fruits of the Forest Feature in India's NCCF Newsletter

Collecting, harvesting, processing, value addition and marketing of Non-Wood Forest Resources (NWFRs) is an important source of livelihood for the forest dwellers and local communities in India. This featured in the first issue of the Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF) newsletter. It was prefaced with this introduction from NCCF Chairman Vijai Sharma: "The pandemic has made us realise, more than ever, that when biodiversity is injured, the support system of human life gets exposed to new risks. We have seen unusual disruption seriously impacting lives and livelihoods. Of relevance are NCCF standards that promote sustainable consumption and natural resource management. Basic needs have to be met while minimising environmental impacts." Go here for the complete newsletter.

Producing Eco-Paper Trays for People & the Environment

In Japan, environmentally friendly PEFC-certified paper and eco-paper trays are made from unbleached wood pulp for packaging of frozen pasta and frozen rice dishes. Respecting the fruits of the earth, the Nippn Group is conducting business activities related to food, ever mindful that its business activities impact the environment. The company strives to contribute to a sustainable society promoting a harmony between people and the environment. The Japanese company derives most of its revenue from milling flour and produces flour related products such as noodles and was established in 1896. Read more here.

?Award for Sustainable Timber Tasmania's Suzette Weeding

PEFC and Responsible Wood join Australia’s forest industries in congratulating Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s (STT) Suzette Weeding on winning the Midway Woman in Forest Industries Award of Excellence, at the National Forest Industry Awards, organised by the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA). Suzette has been a longvalued member of Australia’s forest industries, from her beginnings in forest practices and environmental management and having progressed into an established and inspiring executive. Recently, Suzette was appointed as Chair of the Gottstein Trust, a national educational trust for the forest and forest wood products sector. Suzette is a director of PEFC and Responsible Wood in Australia. Read all about it.

Join the Supporting Sustainable Rubber Campaign Webinar

How does certification work for a product like rubber? Sustainable forest management and chain of custody certification has long been a proven method to demonstrate sustainability for other forest products, yet they are relatively new for the rubber industry. But early adopters are on the move. PEFC has piloted certification for both natural rubber and rubberwood across Southeast Asia. If you source, use, trade or sell natural rubber and rubberwood products and care about protecting the world’s forests, this webinar is for you. Supporting Sustainable Rubber webinar takes place on 22 September 2021, using Zoom. Register now to get an insider’s view on how you can achieve certification.

OIympic Sporting Action at Certified Timber Project Structure

Completed in time for the Tokyo Olympics, the Ariake Tennis Forest Park Clubhouse Indoor Tennis Court involved SGEC / PEFC project certification, the first time for a major Olympic facility.. Project certification was carried out by Japan Gas Appliance Inspection Association (JIA). This is an arena with approximately 15,000 seats and is located in the Ariake North district. During the Paralymnpic competitions, it was also used for volleyball and wheelchair basketball tournaments. In the future it will be used for all kinds of sports and live events, taking advantage of its large capacity. Close by is another impressive timber structure, the Ariake Gymnastics Centre. Following the design concept of “wooden vessels,” the stadium was created to allow the visitors to enjoy the warmth of the wooden building both inside and outside. Read more.

Demand for XLam's Certified Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)

Modular building company Fabprefab has decked out its New South Wales central coast warehouse with XLam’s Responsible Wood-certified Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) to form the structural material of the floor, walls, and roof, as well as to provide a mezzanine level. Fabprefab’s choice of XLam CLT points to the increased demand to use sustainablysourced solutions. Locally grown and manufactured, the timber meets the Australian standard for Sustainable Forest Management, a prerequisite for Responsible Wood certification. XLam technical sales engineer for NSW, Sean Bull explains: "This includes ensuring that all XLam Australia manufacturing sites are chain-of-custody certified, so all products from these sites can be traced from renewable pine plantation through to distribution.” Read more here.

If you need more information on any of the items above, or any other work by PEFC in Asia Pacific, feel free to contact:

Wikkie Netten [email protected]

?Ken Hickson . [email protected]

Or go to PEFC International: www.pefc.org