Suspension of Certificates in Russia and Belarus

The GGL Foundation is deeply concerned about Russia’s aggressive invasion of Ukraine and stands in solidarity with all victims of this violence. With full commitment to GGL’s mission and standards, and after a thorough analysis of the potential impact of withdrawal of GGL certification, the Board of Directors of the Foundation has agreed to suspend all trading certificates in Russia and Belarus and to block all controlled biomass sourcing from the two countries. In that respect we follow the GGL recognized schemes FSC and PEFC in their decisions and the dates of coming into effect.

This means that all certificates in Russia and Belarus that allow the sale or promotion of GGL products are suspended with effect as of the dates as can be referred to the Decisions of FSC and PEFC. In addition, all sourcing of controlled biomass products from the two countries is blocked. This means that once this suspension and blockage becomes effective, woody biomass and other biomass can no longer be sourced as GGL-certified or controlled from Russia and Belarus for their inclusion in GGL supply-chains anywhere in the world.

The GGL Foundation will continue to closely monitor the situation and is ready to take additional measures to protect the integrity of its system.