Introduction

The Economic Development, Governance and Growth Project in Europe and Eurasia (EDGE) is a USAID-funded regional project aimed at creating inclusive and sustainable economic growth, as well as supporting intra-regional and Euro-Atlantic integration in twelve countries from three regions: Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia and Serbia), Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia), Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus.

EDGE supports woodworking and furniture companies and focuses on productivity and sales. In this context, certification and compliance with social and environmental standards are very important for manufacturing companies. International buyers require FSC or PEFC, as well as other technical and social compliance audits. The purpose of FSC and PEFC certification is to ensure that environmental, social and economic sustainability is taken into account in wood production. The introduction of certification for technical and social audits ensures that the stages of the production chain can be traced from the finished product to the forest. Adherence to these two standards is important for the industry, especially for exporting companies.

Certification program

EDGE in partnership with the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers (UAFM) plans to support 5 (five) Ukrainian companies in the woodworking and furniture industry to obtain certification according to one of the mentioned standards.

Terms (indicative) and steps to certification:

Step 1.

Collection of applications and selection of 5 relevant candidates / SMEs from the furniture sector. Deadline: February 21-28, 2022

• Beginning of the application process. Selected SMEs may apply for one or more certifications/audits to meet the requirement (s) of companies (buyers) to purchase their products.

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By Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) we mean the chain of chain certification, which confirms that FSC-certified material has been identified and separated from unusable and unacceptable material as it has moved along the supply chain from the forest to the market.

By the standard for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), we mean: Forest Certification Approval Program – Control Chain, PEFC ST 2002. This standard sets out the requirements for certification of the supply chain of forest and wood products – the conditions that a company must meet to obtain a PEFC certificate.

Step 2.

The selection committee (consisting of 2 representatives of the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers and 2 representatives of EDGE) will consider and approve 5 companies. Deadline: February 21 – March 4, 2022

Step 3.

Support 5 companies in obtaining FSC or PEFC supply chain certificates for wood products by providing consulting services (consultants) and, if necessary, training to prepare 5 companies for technical and social compliance audits. Deadline: March-May 2022

• EDGE will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with 5 companies
• EDGE will select the appropriate consulting service provider (s). Costs related to advisory services and, if necessary for training, will be covered by EDGE;
• 5 selected companies should be ready to invest their own resources in preparation for certification, according to the advice to be provided by the Consultant

Step 4.

Conducting technical and social compliance audits. Deadline: June 2022

• USAID EDGE will select the appropriate certification body to conduct certification in 5 companies. Certification costs will be covered by EDGE

Step 5.

Completion of the certification process by obtaining a certificate or, if necessary, corrective measures from Ukrainian companies.

• Ukrainian companies that will need to take corrective action must be ready to complete the certification process. Additional costs associated with re-visiting the certification body will be covered by Ukrainian companies.

Company selection criteria:

• Companies engaged in wood processing or furniture production
• Profitable companies with positive net profit for the last two years
• Sales exceed $ 500,000
• Exporting companies whose exports account for at least 10% of total sales
• Number of employees – more than 20
• Willingness to invest own resources in the certification process
• Willingness to communicate (in writing) with EDGE representatives in English
• Preliminary certification experience according to any of the ISO quality management standards or similar standards is desirable.

Interested?

• Please review the selection criteria and see if your company can participate in the program
• If you meet the criteria, please fill in the form in English by February 28, 2021

Application form

• If you are unsure and still have questions, send your questions to uafm.info@gmail.com by February 24, 2021