Maja Drča, PEFC EU representative, presents PEFC to EU stakeholders in the large meeting room in the EFH
This year marks five years since PEFC International moved its EU Affairs office to the European Forestry House in Brussels.
Since 2021, this strategic location at the heart of the EU forest sector has supported closer collaboration with key partners, while our growing capacity and engagement have strengthened PEFC’s contribution to EU policy discussions linked to forests and forest-based value chains.
The European Forestry House: A hub for collaboration
In August 2021, PEFC International moved its EU Affairs office to the European Forestry House (EFH), reinforcing our presence in the EU quarter of Brussels.
The European Forestry House brings together key European forest sector organisations under one roof.
Currently, PEFC shares this home with the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF), the European State Forest Association (EUSTAFOR) and the Forest-based Sector Technology Platform (FTP). Being part of this community provides valuable opportunities for regular exchanges with these partners, generating trust and mutual understanding.
What I particularly appreciate about the European Forestry House is the openness, the everyday exchanges and the people who make it such a welcoming place to work, and I hope our PEFC colleagues always feel equally welcome here.
Maja Drča, PEFC EU representative
“But the EFH is more than an office with different forest organisations. It acts as a central hub in the EU Quarter of Brussels which enables closer cooperation and engagement with other stakeholders and EU decision makers on EU forest-related policy developments. presence allows us to represent PEFC’s global perspective, bring our expertise into these discussions, and highlight the role that certification can play in achieving EU policy objectives,” added Drča.
An ever-stronger voice in EU Affairs
PEFC first established a permanent EU representation in Brussels in 2014. Since then, its engagement has continued to evolve, reflecting the growing number of EU policies affecting forests and forest-based value chains.
“In just five years, so much has changed. The range of EU policies affecting forests and forest-based value chains has grown enormously and so has the importance of being present, engaged and connected in Brussels,” said Drča.
With Isaac Lievevrouw, EU Policy and Communications Officer, joining Drča in August 2024, the EU Affairs team doubled its capacity.
This enabled PEFC EU to expand its policy monitoring, strengthen stakeholder engagement and contribute more actively to EU policy discussions on topics including sustainable forest management, tackling deforestation, contributing to climate and biodiversity ambition, sustainable products and supply chains and financing for sustainability while addressing misleading sustainability claims.
Its growing engagement is also reflected in its participation in European Commission expert groups and stakeholder platforms.
PEFC is a member of the Expert Group/Multi-Stakeholder Platform on Protecting and Restoring the World’s Forests and the Expert Group on EU Nature Credits. Most recently, PEFC has also been appointed as a permanent observer to the Forest and Forestry Stakeholder Platform.
Through these roles, PEFC EU contributes its expertise in the certification of sustainable forest management and traceable value chains more directly, exchange perspectives with other stakeholders and jointly explore the impact voluntary third-party certification can have on different EU policies.
Looking ahead: Building on five years of collaboration
Five years after moving to the European Forestry House, PEFC EU remains committed to strengthening cooperation with its partners and contributing to EU policies that address its common goals. Through its engagement in EU policy-making processes, it aims to ensure that policy ambitions translate into feasible measures that can be effectively implemented on the ground, potentially supported through voluntary third-party certification.
PEFC EU looks forward to building on its EU engagement in the years ahead, while continuing to strengthen and further develop PEFC certification to meet emerging needs and challenges.
