Media News Bulletin from PEFC Asia Pacific February 2021

Big Global Boost for Mass Engineered Timber Buildings

The move to Mass Engineered Timber buildings in Asia Pacific and around the world received a big boost when Jaguar Land Rover - owned by Tata Motors of India - announced last month that its Advanced Product Creation Centre has the largest mass engineered timber roof in the United Kingdom. Encompassing 1,512m³ of PEFC-certified glulam beams and 2,674m³ of cross laminated timber (CLT) panels manufactured by Binderholz, the engineered timber roof makes a huge design statement covering an area of over 50,000m2.Tata Motors, India’s largest automotive manufacturer, has been the parent company since 2008, and in 2013 the Jaguar and Land Rover brands merged to form one unified company. More from PEFC here.

MANGO Labels & Paper Shopping Bags PEFC-certified

Next time you buy a Mango branded fashion item - in store or onllne - check out the packaging. The Spanish fashion brand represented around the globe, insists that 100% of MANGO shopping bags are made from PEFC-certified paper sourced from sustainably managed forests. In addition, all MANGO labels use certified cardboard, most often carrying the PEFC logo, a guarantee that it's from sustainably managed forests, and do not contribute to the deforestation of forests at the risk of extinction. Read more about MANGO & sustainability here.

PEFC "trusted ecolabel" in Australian Procurement Guide

PEFC has been recognised by the Australian Government as a 'trusted ecolabel' in the new Sustainable Procurement Guide released by the Department for Environment. Whilst this publication is designed for government entities, it will ultimately have utility beyond government as large corporates often pick these up to reform or inform their own procurement guides and requirements. Responsible Wood, representing PEFC in Australia and New Zealand says this guide provides step-by-step guidance on how to consider sustainability in the different stages of the procurement process, from identifying the business need to the end of the contract, including review and reporting. Read more here.

MTCC & Eco Sense for the Paper, Print & Packaging Forms

Sustainable Paper Trends and the Need for PEFC Certification in collaboration with Malaysia Timber Certification Council (MTCC), was the theme of the Eco sense Forum/Webinar conducted at the end of last month. Participants learnt how Chain of Custody certificate holders can gain access to global markets. The Eco Sense Forum also helped businesses to gain a deeper understanding on how to work with other economic sector players on their supply chain compliance. Pictured is Teo Seng's Certified Paper Egg Cartons. MTCC wanted the forum to aid better informed decision making for SMEs in the print, paper and packaging industry, much needed in these times of economic uncertainty.  See and hear more here.

Canadian Influence for Mass Timber Building in Asia

While climate change and its related effects remain a global challenge, in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC), municipalities are taking action to reduce its impact at the local level. Cities and towns across are encouraging low carbon construction using light-frame wood and mass timber, along with high-performance energy-efficient design. All of which they hope will lead to greater economic growth. BC's Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) is also encouraging Asian countries to come on board. It's encouraging wood use in construction and prefabrication by leveraging Chinese government initiatives around construction industrialisation and green building. BC is also active in India South Korea and Japan. Read more.

PEFC Joins International Rubber Study Group (IRSG)

The International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) is an inter-governmental organization with the main objective of improving the transparency of the world rubber market and strengthening the international cooperation on rubber issues. IRSG is pleased to announce PEFC International has joined the IRSG Panel of Associates. PEFC as one of its Founding Members of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR). PEFC will be launching its Supporting Sustainable Rubber campaign (SSR) in April this year. It is in PEFC’s DNA to meet the needs of smallholders in the forestry sector, and as approximately 85% of rubber production globally comes from smallholders, it is essential that they are meaningfully represented in this new platform. Read More.

PEFC Says Plant More Urban Trees to Cut Heat Island Effect

More of us live in cities than ever before. But cities are the big producers of greenhouse gas emissions, leading to polluted air. Urban trees can help by reducing energy needs and cleaning the air. Singapore’s climate-change problems are compounded by the Urban Heat Island effect. Thanks to hard, heat-absorbing surfaces, the temperature of a built-up urban area can be several degrees higher than the land around it. That variance has grown to 7 degrees Celsius from 4.5 degrees Celsius in 2004, according to research by the Cooling Singapore project at the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC), a research partnership between the city-state and Switzerland.  See the PEFC video

Asia Pacific Rayon's Sustainable Future in Global Compact

Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) has been accepted as a United National Global (UN) Compact member, joining the global network of over 10,000 companies committed to building a sustainable future by implementing the Ten Universal Principles of the UN Global Compact on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. APR has PEFC Chain of Custody certification as this provides independent verified assurance that the certified forest-based material contained in a product originates from certified sustainably managed forests. Read all about it.

Alert for Asia Pacific Architects: Call for WAF Prize Entries

Asia Pacific architects need to know that the World Architecture Festival (WAF) now takes place 1-3 December 2021 in Lisbon, Portugal. The Festival moved from the original dates in June, due to the ongoing uncertainty created by COVID-19. The entry deadline is now 7 May 2021. For the third year in a row, PEFC is sponsoring the Best Use of Certified Timber Prize. The Prize rewards architects and project teams for using certified timber as the main construction material for buildings outstanding in sustainability, innovation, quality or aesthetics. Read More

If you need more information on any of the items above, or any other work by PEFC in Asia Pacific, feel free to contact:
Or go to PEFC International: www.pefc.org