Our Certification
What is PEFC ?
PEFC is an alliance of national forest certification systems, NGOs, associations, companies and individuals, working together towards our vision of a world that values the contribution of sustainable forests to our planet and our lives. In 1999, small- and family forest owners from Europe came together to create a forest certification system that would enable them to demonstrate their excellence in sustainable forest management. 20 years on, PEFC is the largest forest certification system in the world! With over 300 million hectares of PEFC-certified forest, we are the largest forest certification system in the world. To this must be added more than 20,000 companies that have obtained PEFC Chain of Custody certification, demonstrating their commitment to responsible sourcing of certified products.
What is CE Marking?
The CE marking certifies that our plywood product has met European Union health, safety, and environmental requirements, which ensure consumer safety. CE marking now provides product access to 27 countries with a population close to 500 million. If you want to trade in the EU, CE-marking is a mandatory conformity mark required for a wide variety of products. CE-marking indicates that your products comply with stringent EU product safety directives. Structural CE marking (or CE 2+) specifies that an independent notified body verifies the provisions for internal controls established by the manufacturer and the conformity with the requirements of the harmonize standard, EN 13986.
What is Qmark Standard?
The Q-Mark marine plywood certification scheme is designed to improve the quality and performance of marine plywood used in the construction industry and demonstrate compliance with BS 1088. The Timber Trade Federation now requires all marine plywood sold by its members to comply with BS 1088 and has recommended that future claims of compliance should be supported by independent third party quality assurance. Designed as a method of ensuring the quality of the product, BS 1088 defines the characteristics of the raw material, as well as how the product needs to be tested, graded and labelled. Products must be of sufficient density (at least 500kg/m3 for standard marine plywood); manufactured from graded durable veneer, with strict limitations on natural and processing defects; and the bonding quality should meet the requirements of BS EN 314-2, Bonding Class 3.
What is CARB & EPA?
As an approved third-party certifier (TCP), UL is authorized to conduct inspections and testing to assess composite wood panel manufacturers’ products for compliance to the regulation. The regulation sets formaldehyde emissions limits for hardwood plywood (HWPW), particle board (PB) and medium density fiberboard (MDF).The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Title VI Compliance Rule in 2016 for composite wood. The EPA Rule was created with the help of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to ensure the rule was consistent or similar to the CARB Airborne Toxic Control Measure (ATCM) Method but provides a greater compliance requirement for the United States. In the certification process, UL verifies that the manufacturing facility for subject composite wood products are capable of complying with the CARB ATCM emission standards and TSCA Title VI. To receive these certifications, manufacturers undergo quarterly inspections and testing by the TPC, and routine quality control testing at manufacturing locations. Manufacturers that earn certification demonstrate that their panels comply with the emission standards by labeling their panels as CARB Phase 2 compliant and/or TSCA compliant.
