Mar 03, 2006. /Lesprom Network/. Global forest products company UPM, global conservation organisation WWF and Norwegian-based foundation Det Norske Veritas (DNV) were awarded on March 2 the Forest Leadership 2006 Partnership Award for a joint project on forest certification. The Forest Leadership Partnership award recognizes commendable teamwork between different organizations such as conservation organizations and corporations to further sustainable forestry. The project was the first time a forest company and global environmental organization worked together to field test different forest certification standards. "This cooperation is a good example of how the key issues facing the forest industry can be addressed jointly," said Pдivi Salpakivi-Salomaa, director, UPM Environmental Forestry Affairs. Forest certification is a tool through which consumers can be sure the raw wood material in their paper and wood products comes from well-managed forests. UPM promotes all credible forest certification standards and is publicly committed to increasing the amount of certified wood used in its products, a position supported by WWF. Therefore it was easy to find a common basis for the "Parallel testing of forest certification standards" project. The aim of the parallel test was to promote sustainable forestry and the harmonious development of different forest certification schemes. The global auditing experience of Det Norske Veritas made it possible to carry out the testing in a structured way. "The project was an interesting, challenging and positive process. The partners worked together, challenging each other, often from different viewpoints, to come up with consensus on the results," said Duncan Pollard, director of WWF International's Forest Programme. "This field test was carried out in the forest and complimented the desktop analyses that have been done." "The results highlighted real differences between certification standards on the ground, and also showed that there are issues of consistency within the different certification schemes," said Kimmo Haarala, lead auditor from Det Norske Veritas. "Five of the standards tested achieved a balanced approach to promoting the economic, social and environmental management of forests, but with some differences in emphasis." UPM, WWF and DNV also believe that the test results identify ways of driving forward the discussion on certification. WWF has used the insights of the project to help it to revise its forest certification policy. UPM improved its own forest practices and developed a global generic chain of custody model that meets the forest management and chain of custody criteria of international forest certifications standards. The results of the project can also be used to further develop credible certification standards and UPM is willing to participate in those processes.