Malaysia now holds more PEFC-certified forest than anywhere else in Asia — and with Bursa Malaysia tightening mandatory sustainability reporting for listed companies for the third time in a decade, that certification is increasingly a compliance requirement rather than a mark of good intent. That is according to the Malaysian Timber Certification Council, which spoke to Wood Central ahead of International Day of Forests on Saturday.
Malaysia generated more than RM21.5 billion (approximately US$5.5 billion) in forest product export value last year, delivering a trade surplus of RM12.61 billion drawn almost entirely from certified timber. Forest cover holds at more than 54 per cent of the national landmass — above the 50 per cent floor committed to at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and maintained every year since — with 32.9 per cent of that estate, some 5.92 million hectares, now certified under the MC&I SFM standard.
The MTCC has run the scheme since 1999, the first tropical certification body in the Asia Pacific to receive PEFC endorsement. Audits are annual, recertification falls due every five years, and the scope extends well beyond forestry practice to cover legal compliance, labour conditions, and community engagement — a standard that predates ESG disclosure by more than two decades.
Certification has moved well beyond primary timber.
Of 821 companies certified since the scheme launched in 2002, 372 hold current chain-of-custody certification across sawmills, furniture producers, paper processors, and downstream manufacturers. Consumer brands already sourcing certified Malaysian materials include Vinda, Paseo, PetPet, MamyPoko and PaperOne. A certified hardwood arch at Jalan Sang Guna — developed with DBKL and ThinkCity — marks the scheme’s first push into the built environment, with the council flagging hotels and public infrastructure as the next target.
