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UPM Raflatac achieves FSC® and PEFC™ certifications for labelstock produced in Malaysia

image UPM Raflatac has achieved both FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certifications for a range of labelstock produced at its Malaysia factory and for the slitting and distribution operations in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and India. Now all UPM Raflatac factories in the Asia-Pacific region are PEFC and FSC certified. This is a significant milestone towards UPM Raflatac’s aim to supply products that are sustainable over their lifecycles, and to increase the range of eco-labelled products.

“We have seen demand rising for FSC and PEFC certified products and are proud to be able to supply these materials to our customers,” says Jouni Komulainen, General Manager, UPM Raflatac Southeast Asia. “A clear Chain of Custody is crucial also to retailers. They can underline their sustainability credentials to consumers, who in turn can make more responsible buying decisions.”

FSC (the Forest Stewardship Council®) and PEFC (the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes™) are the main global forest management certifications. These certifications confirm that the UPM Raflatac paper labelstock carrying the FSC or PEFC logo has been manufactured using raw materials from sustainably managed forests. The certificates also play an important role in verifying compliance with legislation aimed at preventing the placement of illegally logged wood fibre on the market. UPM Raflatac has a global presence on Chain of Custody, currently allowing the company to offer FSC and PEFC certified products from Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America.

UPM Raflatac is one of the world’s leading suppliers of self-adhesive label materials. UPM Raflatac has a global service network consisting of 13 factories on five continents and a broad network of sales offices and slitting and distribution terminals worldwide. UPM Raflatac employs around 2,900 people and made sales of EUR 1.2 billion (USD 1.6 billion) in 2012. Further information is available at www.upmraflatac.com.

The Chain of Custody (CoC) verifies that the wood used in a product originates from sustainably managed and certified forests.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council®) is an international non-governmental organisation founded in 1993, whose task is to support environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. Forests certified to FSC standards are located in more than 60 countries. The Council has defined ten general principles of forest management. The actual certification standards are drawn up in accordance with the FSC principles in a national cooperation process. Fulfilling the FSC standard requires independent third-party verification. More information: www.fsc.org.

PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes™) is, by area, the world’s largest forest certification system. PEFC is an umbrella organisation for the mutual recognition of national or regional forest certification schemes which meet internationally recognised requirements for sustainable forest management. PEFC includes forest certification, Chain of Custody and product labelling. Fulfilling the PEFC standard requires independent third-party verification. PEFC members are national or regional forest certification schemes based on inter-governmental processes for sustainable forest management around the world. In Europe these principles were agreed at a conference of European forest ministers. More information: www.pefc.org.

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