Examining the adoption of PEFC chain of custody certification in the Italian forest-based industry: An empirical study on motivations and impacts

PEFC is the world's largest forest certification system, with more than 295 million hectares of certified forests and over 28,000 companies currently involved in the Chain of Custody (CoC). In this context, this research investigated the governance mechanisms influencing the decisions of Italian forest-based industry operators to adopt such certification and the results of its adoption. A questionnaire was administered to 1326 PEFC-certified Italian companies of forest-based sector between November 2022 and March 2023, and 236 valid responses were collected. The main findings highlighted that internal values and beliefs within the company primarily influence the decision to adopt the scheme through the ‘Moral’ mechanism. Key motivational levers included the environmental awareness of employees, the improvement of environmental quality, and the way the company communicates its brand and products on the market. There was also good alignment between pre-adoption expectations and outcomes achieved after CoC certification, demonstrating the effectiveness of PEFC's role as a ‘Signalling’ and ‘Moral’ mechanism. The adoption of the CoC certification scheme significantly enhanced corporate image and highlighted the need to train employees in the management of Environmental Management Systems. The study makes a significant contribution from a theoretical point of view, enriching the literature in this line of research, but also from a practical point of view by providing useful information for practitioners wishing to strengthen their certification system or for companies wishing to adopt a more sustainable approach to their business through the adoption of certification schemes.