Pefc 2023 report: forests in Italy are becoming increasingly sustainable.

This is good news for businesses and the environment: the area of PEFC-certified forests in Italy increased by 33,000 hectares at the end of 2022. This 3.7% increase brought the total number of hectares under sustainable management to 925,609.96. The 2023 PEFC Report recorded a year marked by increases that confirm the positive results seen in 2021. In fact, the number of certified wood and paper processing companies also increased, reaching 1,327 with a growth of +3.4%. In this positive data picture, Trentino Alto-Adige confirms its position as the territory with the largest certified forest area and leads the ranking of the 14 Italian regions that have at least one sustainably managed forest. Among these, Friuli Venezia-Giulia ranks second with 95,163.98 hectares, followed by Veneto with 76,294.005 hectares of PEFC-certified forests.

In Italy, therefore, PEFC certification is growing at a rapid pace, demonstrating the increasingly clear desire of companies to provide consumers with guarantees about the origin of the materials they use to make their products. In fact, 104 new companies obtained Chain of Custody certification in 2022.

The fact that they belong to multiple production sectors—packaging paper (+41.3%), pallets (+27.5%), wooden packaging (+21.6%) together with the printing and graphic arts, laminates, and panels sectors – testifies to the extent of this desire and highlights consumers' greater sensitivity to the environmental aspects of the packaging they choose for their consumption.

After all, Chain of Custody certification is a voluntary monitoring tool available to companies to keep track of raw materials that, from sustainably managed forests, pass through the entire production chain to the final product. PM Serramenti also undergoes an annual audit by the certification body. Since 2020, the Bergamo-based company has been committed to complying with the requirements for confirmation of Pefc certification, which today remains the only way to exclude unsustainable sources from supply, curb deforestation, and preserve biodiversity for the benefit of today's society and future generations.