SGEC’s Effort for Japan’s Wood Procurement Policies to Promote Countermeasuresagainst Illegal Logging
１

Kiyoo Nakagawa １
Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council, 2F Sabo Kaikan, 2-7-5 Hirakawa-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0093
Abstract

The Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC) was established in 2003 with the participation of Japan’s forestry
and related industries, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), citizen’s groups, etc. The SGEC’scertification system is unique to Japan in that it integrates a forestry certification and a chain of custody, or CoC, (separationand labelling) certification. Over 330,000 hectares of forest have been thus certified, and the system has received
widespread support. SGEC-certified wood has a certification of legality and sustainability, and meets the criteria of green
procurement. SGEC is thought to contribute to Japan’s wood procurement policies to reinforce its countermeasures against
illegal logging.
Keywords: SGEC, Sustainable Green Ecosystem Certification, forest certification/separation and labelling certification,
green procurement
1.

Japan’s Forestry Management
Procurement of WoodandGreenThe objectives of Japan’s forest management arefulfilment of multi-faceted functions of forests as statedin the Basic Law for Forest and Forestry, andsustainable and healthy development of the forestry
industry. Its forest management implementation isbased on the forest operation planning system as
specified in the Forest Law.
The national government develops its basic plan forforest and forestry, and based on it, local governments
develop their forest plans and forest enhancement
plans. A forest owner/operator, singularly or jointly withothers, voluntarily develops a five-year forest operation
plan and submits it to their city/town/village mayor for
approval. The nation’s forest operation planning system
is implemented in the hopes that forest operation isrational and systematic based on the plan.
By introducing the Green Purchasing Law, theJapanese government implemented its measures togive wood and wood products, of which the legality andsustainability are verified, priority when the government
procures materials. The said law also specifies thedetails of verification, including the definition of legality
and sustainability and products/materials in scope. The
government also has developed guidelines of proving
the legality of wood and wood products in scope ofgovernment procurement. These guidelines, based on
the Green Purchasing Law, encourage extensive efforts
by the industries and private companies in this regard.
2.

The Relationship between Japan’s Guidelines
and the SGEC Certificate

The government’s guidelines for proving the legality
explain the method for forest operator to prove it
independently, and the method to prove it through aforest certification mark. SGEC(Sustainable GreenEcosystem Council) is listed as one of the certification
bodies.
Japan’s effort for forest certification was trailingbehind that of other nations, but the entry of Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC) into Japan triggered themovement within the forestry and related industries toestablish a certification system suitable for Japan.
Various NGOs and citizens’ groups joined forces, andafter many discussions, SGEC was founded on June 3,

2003. Its activities started immediately. SGEC believes
that forests must be positioned as a crucial element of afuture recycling-based society. To that effect, SGEC
aims to raise the level of the nation’s forestry
management and establish a system where the wholesociety recognizes and uses wood and wood productsthat are certified to have come from forests managedand operated in a sustainable manner.
SGEC’s judgment criteria of sustainable forest
management uses the above-mentioned Japan’s forest
operation planning system and incorporates Montreal
Process, other standards/indicators, ISO, and otherenvironmental management systems. These areapplied, where appropriate, to the actual state of forest
management in Japan, so that the certification system
will withstand international scrutiny. The criteria specify
the following seven standards and 36 indicators, andprovide guidelines to serve as the basis of a certification
checklist.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)

Standard 1Identification of forests inscope of certification and establishment of
their management policies
Standard 2
Conservation of biodiversity
Standard 3
Conservation andmaintenance of soil and water resourcesStandard 4
Maintenance of productivity
and health of forest ecosystems
Standard 5
Legal and institutionalframework for sustainable forest management
Standard 6
Maintenance and promotionof societal and economic benefits
Standard 7
Monitoring and disclosure ofinformation

The SGEC certification includes in its scope not only aforest certification but also a chain of custody (CoC)
certification of the separation and labelling of products
harvested from certified forests. More specifically, logs
from certified forests are separated from non-certified
logs and wood, and after trading of the logs/wood, only
those businesses from supplier side (manufacturers oftimbers, laminated lumber, pulp and paper) to user side(builders, residential home manufacturers, etc.) that are
certified for its separation and labelling practices may
handle the logs/wood. The integration of a forest
certification system and a forestry product certification
system is the unique attribute of the SGEC system.

Based on the above-mentioned standards/indicatorsand guidelines, each certification body creates its own
guidelines and checklist to perform their certification
audits. The final audit is performed by the SGEC
Auditing Committee to ensure the uniformity andreliability between and of various certification bodies.
After an audit and judgment by the certification bodyand a further audit by the SGEC Auditing Committee,
the SGEC Head Office issues the certificate. The
certification body has the obligation to conduct annual
surveillance audit after the issuance of the certificate.
SGEC believes that the certificate, issued after athird-party audit based on the forest operation planningsystemoftheJapanese
government
andinternationally-recognizedsustainable
forestmanagement methods, attests to the legality andsustainability of the forest managed/operated by thecertified party.
Legality means that the wood/log was harvested
legally in light of the forest-related legislations of thenation in question, and in the case of Japan, such
legislations include its Forest Law and many otherrelated laws and regulations. SGEC forest certification
enables verification of legality through a forest
certification audit report, documentation that is kept safe
at the SGEC Secretariat. Sustainability means that thewood/log was harvested from a forest that is managed
and operated in a sustainable manner, and thecertification enables verification of sustainability througha forest certification audit report, documentation that iskept safe at the SGEC Secretariat. The legality andsustainability are ensured through publication of thecontents of audits and the annual surveillance audits.
Wood/logs harvested from SGEC-certified forests areseparated and labelled throughout their processing andtrading. Reliability is ensured through publication of thecontents of audits and the annual surveillance audits.
3.

Future Tasks and Perspectives

The SGEC certification system was established onlyrecently, and its lack of international recognition has
been criticized. We recognize that it is an issue toovercome. To that end, we will increase our efforts in
exchanging information with the bodies of otherinternationally-recognized certification systems, andactively seek recognition from bodies operatinginternational certification standards.
Since the establishment of SGEC in June 2003, theSGEC-certified forest area has expanded to 330,000
hectares. This attests to the interest in the use ofdomestically produced wood in this country and the trustthat is given to the legality and sustainability of
SGEC-certified wood/logs.
We expect that the movement of green wood/log
procurement will further pick up its momentum in Japan,
and hope to contribute to it actively.