SHC

Sustainable Hardwood Coalition

Sustainable Hardwood Coalition (SHC), an initiative by the American Hardwood Export Council, ensures that U.S. hardwoods are legally sourced, deforestation-free, and climate positive. It offers independent, cost-effective, and robust assurance of the sustainability of U.S. hardwoods at scale using the latest remote sensing, wood provenance identification, and Life Cycle Assessment technologies combined with expert jurisdictional risk assessment.

Introducing the Sustainable Hardwood Coalition

SHC will provide an effective and verifiable process to assure end users that U.S. hardwood from smallholder-managed forests is both legally sourced and deforestation-free.

The SHC Assurance System

The SHC Assurance System enables consignments of U.S. hardwood to be accompanied by the documentation required to demonstrate legal and deforestation-free origin, including geolocation data.

Deforestation Risk Assessment

Using the latest GIS and AI technology, SHC’s independent assessment of deforestation risk draws on Sentinel-2 satellite data, with land classifications pre-prepared by CIBO Technologies, a commercial supplier. The European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites in the same orbit that can provide data with 10m resolution, allowing the rate and immediate direct drivers of deforestation (in terms of the crops or other land uses that replace forests) to be readily identified.

Internationally Recognised Deforestation Definition

To facilitate broad acceptance in the global market, the SHC assessment of deforestation risk is based, as far as possible, on internationally recognised definitions of deforestation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO).

Legality Risk Assessment

In the SHC Assurance System, the risk of illegal harvesting is assessed against the “Framework for Jurisdictional Risk Assessment (JRA) of Legal Compliance of Hardwood Production in the USA”. The JRA Framework is designed to consider all aspects of legal compliance in the hardwood producing industry in the U.S., from point of harvest to point of export. It is applicable to hardwood logs sourced from forest properties used in the production of sawnwood, mouldings, veneer, plywood, engineered wood products, and co-products from hardwood mill residuals.

Support the Sustainable Hardwood Coalition and be part of something better!

For SHC to grow into the powerful tool that the hardwood industry needs, your support is essential.

We have produced a Statement of Support which we hope you will endorse. You can sign the Statement by clicking the button below.

Sign our Statement of Support

Ownership of SHC & AHEC’s role

Who owns SHC?

The legal structure of SHC is yet to be determined, but it will operate as a non-profit organisation. SHC will be owned and guided by representatives from key stakeholder groups, including representatives of private sector small scale forestry, hardwood processors and traders, trade bodies and civil society organisations. This list is not exclusive and undoubtedly will grow over time.

What is AHEC’s role in the development of SHC?

AHEC’s role is to ensure U.S. hardwoods are universally recognised as sustainable in international markets. It aims to achieve this through a mechanism that is cost-effective and equitable for U.S. hardwood exporters and their suppliers, while acknowledging environmental benefits and addressing sustainability challenges specific to the U.S. hardwood sector.

AHEC believes there is both a need and an opportunity that will primarily support U.S. exporters. However it also recognises that the hardwood sector in other countries may face similar market access issues and might later wish to participate in the program.

AHEC believes there is a need for the SHC Assurance System and has invested in the development of the program. Longer term, AHEC hopes that other stakeholders will support the development of the program and help it transition into an independent body with its own income streams.