The Responsible Wood AGM took on an international flavour when Michael Berger, CEO of Geneva-based PEFC International, flew in to “celebrate a year of achievement for Australia’s largest forest certification scheme”.
Mr Berger, who was in Bunbury, WA, for the AGM, has more than 20 years of experience in environmental and quality management, sustainable supply chain development, and management systems. The event brought together members, directors, and special guests, all dedicated to promoting the highest standards in sustainable forest management and chain-of-custody accreditation in Australia and New Zealand through the RW and PEFC brands.
“From our expanded marketing and communications programs to participating in critical discussions on the global stage, including the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), this past year has been busy,” according to Simon Dorries, Responsible Wood’s CEO.
The AGM report highlights strengthening strategic partnerships with PEFC Asia-Pacific and launching impactful marketing campaigns. Mr Dorries said Responsible Wood was especially proud of the success of its Community Grants Program, which awarded $40,000 to local initiatives this year.
“Our continued work in supporting certified sustainable products in international markets, particularly within our region, and promoting Responsible Wood’s role in PEFC’s 25th-anniversary celebrations, has reaffirmed our global leadership in forest certification,” Mr Dorries said.
The AGM was marked by the recognition of:
- Dr Hans Drielsma who was awarded life membership of Responsible Wood (formerly Australian Forestry Standard). He played a leading role in the development of AFS and its endorsement by PEFC. He was a director of the PEFC Council from 2006 to 2016, serving on the PEFC International Governance Review Panel. He was also instrumental in a more active multi-nation promotion of PEFC in the Asia-Pacific region.
Dr Drielsma has worked in the forest industry for more than 40 years. Growing up in the Blue Mountains of NSW led to an early interest in the forest industry’s effects on the environment and local communities. Following postgraduate studies in natural resource sociology at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, he worked for Forests NSW and Forestry Tasmania. During his time in Tasmania, he led the introduction of environmental certification into the organisation.
- Katie Fowden, who has stepped down as a Responsible Wood director. Katie’s leadership of the marketing committee, her contributions to PEFC International’s marketing, communications and Advocacy (MCA) Working Group, and her governance support have contributed to the success of Responsible Wood.
“Her dedication, vision, and hard work have left an indelible mark on our organisation, and we wish her all the best,” Mr Dorries said after presenting her with a rose mahogany jewellery box crafted by Sunshine Coast woodturner John Muller of Wood Addiction.
- Clarissa Brandt, Timber Queensland’s communications and strategic relations manager, who was elected as a new board member for Responsible Wood at the AGM.
Clarissa has made a significant and lasting contribution to the forest and timber industry through her position at Timber Queensland, where she advocates for processors and other members and participates on various national committees and advisory boards.
She is well networked across the national timber industry and, more broadly, has given her a key role in managing successful marketing and promotional events and communication strategies to end users and timber specifiers for over a decade. She is also across a broad range of regulatory and voluntary standards and codes that apply to forest growing and timber supply chains through the use of timber materials in the built environment, as well as her experience with related bodies such as the Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders Alliance Working Group.
Clarissa brings good knowledge of Responsible Wood’s forest management and chain-of-custody processes. She previously sat on the AS4707 Chain of Custody Standards Reference Committee, working alongside Responsible Wood staff members on various industry projects. She has also worked in the business and financial services sectors in Australia and overseas.
Responsible Wood is Australia’s largest forest certification scheme…
By the numbers, 17.5 million hectares of Australian commercial forests are now certified under the Responsible Wood certification scheme – a drop of 14.2% on the same time last year. “This decrease in defined forest area was primarily due to the ceasing of native forest harvesting on publicly managed land in Victoria on 1 January 2024, which subsequently resulted in the closure of the state-owned forest management agency VicForests,” the Responsible Wood Annual Report on Activities said. With “the VicForest managed estate comprised about 3 million hectares of certified forest estate.”
At the same time, Responsible Wood Chain of Custody certificates “remained steady” at 361 – with group chain of custody growing steadily with several new organisations joining Wood Connect – a new group certification scheme that can make Responsible Wood and PEFC chain of custody more affordable than fully customised systems.
- To learn more about Wood Connect, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
