Updates information provided by FSC throughout
International non-profit Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has reinstated a key sustainability certificate for Vietnamese wood pellet producer An Viet Phat (AVP) Energy, which it had suspended for three and a half years in 2022.
The status of the certificate was reviewed as active on 21 December, and it is valid until August 2026, data from the FSC website show.
AVP "undertook a thorough root-cause analysis of an identified issue and proactively engaged in additional audits and checks conducted by the certification body… The rigorous examination and AVP's commitment to corrective actions aim to prevent the recurrence of similar situations in the future," FSC told Argus.
FSC had suspended AVP's certificate — including its ethical sourcing endorsement and trademark license — for three and a half years in October 2022, on the grounds that AVP had "falsely" claimed a large volume of wood pellets were made of 100pc FSC-certified raw material. The Vietnamese producer has denied the claims, saying it had been a "misunderstanding".
But AVP's proactive engagement sped up the FSC reinstatement.
"As part of its commitment to maintaining the highest standards, AVP has pledged to undergo additional checks and verifications by both the certification body and [its assurance partner] Assurance Services International in the years to come," FSC said. FSC will publish a comprehensive press release on the matter in January.
AVP could not be reached for comment.
FSC's suspension of AVP's certificate in late 2022 meant that AVP wood pellets were deemed unfit for delivery to Japanese utilities operating under state-support mechanisms, such as the feed-in-tariff or feed-in-premium schemes. These mechanisms require third-party certification of the forest management and chain of custody of the wood pellets that are used for power generation supported by subsidies. From early 2023, AVP redirected some of its wood pellets that would have otherwise been shipped to Japan into the South Korean market, which has more flexible sustainability requirements.
The reinstatement of AVP's certificate has had no immediate impact on the market, as spot demand is currently limited in both South Korea and Japan.
AVP exported around 400,000-500,000t of wood pellets to Japan in 2021, with shipments to South Korea at around 200,000-300,000t. The firm had 1.8mn t/yr of production capacity by the end of 2022, although its actual production is lower.
