Technical Committee

Martin is Professor for wood science, timber manufacturing and timber markets at the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, Germany. In addition to these subjects he also gives courses in forest certification and certification systems. During his career he has worked with a number of organisations (including World Bank, WWF, FSC, GIZ) on the development of criteria for assessing certification systems. He is also currently working for Assurance Services International (ASI) as lead assessor for forest management and chain of custody accreditation of FSC Certification Bodies. In this role he has been active over the last few years in a number of countries in Europe, North America and Asia assessing enterprises in the forest and timber sector. He has also contributed to the development of standards and policies in the field of forest certification for a number of organisations. Martin was member of the SBP Technical Committee from 2016 to 2018, and in this role gave expert advice on the approval of Certification Bodies and the approval of applicants for certification, as well as on other technical matters. Martin holds an MSc in Forestry from the University of Freiburg, Germany and an MSc and PhD in Wood Sciences from ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Kyla is Director of Sustainability for Drax’s US operations, where she oversees a broad sustainability agenda aimed at delivering Nature Positive, Climate Positive, and People Positive outcomes. Kyla has spent the last two decades of her career focused on forest sustainability. She has a breadth of experience across the forest industry in the southern US, holding posts in wildlife management and conservation, forest landowner assistance, forest certification, and fiber sustainability. Her work with the paper industry, large corporate landowners, and the bioenergy sector spans from the mountains of Virginia, south to Florida, and west to Lousiana and Arkansas. Kyla has been in post with Drax since 2017. Kyla holds an MS in Forest Management and a BS in Wildlife Management.

Trang is a sustainable forest management and certification specialist with nearly 15 years of experience in forest and biomass certification, Chain of Custody, environmental and social impact assessment, and standards development across Vietnam and the wider Mekong region.

She is currently a Researcher in the Science, Training and International Cooperation Department at the Vietnam Academy of Forest Sciences (VAFS). Within that role, Trang led the Working Group of experts that supported the development of the SBP-endorsed Regional Risk Assessment for Vietnam and the SBP-endorsed Regional Risk Assessment for Trees Outside Forests (TOF) in Vietnam.

Previously Trang served at the Vietnam Forest Certification Office, where she helped operate the Vietnam Forest Certification Scheme (VFCS/PEFC) and update its national standards. As a consultant, she has supported state forestry companies in Vietnam in achieving and maintaining FSC forest management certification and has assisted with EIA/SIA evaluation for a rubber plantation company in Laos under the FSC forest management standard. She has also built capacity for protection and special-use forest management boards, as well as afforestation and wood-processing enterprises, on FSC and PEFC forest management and Chain of Custody requirements, and has helped Biomass Producers meet SBP and EU RED requirements.

In addition, Trang has participated in a number of projects funded or implemented by organisations including FAO, GIZ, KFW, JICA, BMEL, CIFOR and UN-REDD in the fields of sustainable forest management, forest certification, biodiversity conservation and climate change. She has completed auditor training under the VFCS/PEFC and FSC forest management standards.

Trang holds an MSc in Tropical Forest Management from the Technical University of Dresden, Germany. She is based in Vietnam.

Karina is specialised in forest ecology, close-to-nature forestry and evaluation against qualifying standards as team leader and Lead Auditor (FSC, PEFC and SBP). Since 2001, Karina has as Lead Auditor conducted multiple FSC and PEFC forest management and chain-of-custody audits. At WSP Danmark, Karina is responsible for a team of auditors. During her career, Karina has participated in developing methodologies for Nature Value Assessments and mapping of key biotopes in forests, as well as in developing methodology for validation of baseline and carbon calculations at the Forest Management Unit (FMU) level for forest afforestation projects. She has strong expertise and experience in implementation of European nature and environmental legislation, especially the EU Birds and Habitats Directives, from 26 years of working on targeted projects in Northern and Eastern Europe. Since 1998, Karina has worked with transfer of experiences and expertise to EU candidate and neighbouring countries in all aspects of implementing Natura 2000. As Project Manager and expert, she has contributed to the introduction and implementation of Natura 2000 and biodiversity projects in Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Turkey. Karina holds MSc in Biology from Aarhus University in Denmark.

Marion is a graduate engineer from ENSTIB (Ecole Nationale des Technologies et Industries du Bois) with experience of several certification schemes (including PEFC, FSC, CE marking, and European Flax), group facilitation, and the drafting of technical documents (for example, DUERP models, technology benchmarks). Since March 2023, Marion has been serving as the Biomass Quality, Certification, and Regulatory Watch Officer at SOVEN (Engie Solutions) in Courbevoie, France. Her responsibilities include monitoring certifications (SBP-REDII, PEFC, SSD), and implementing REDIII and EUDR in coordination with French authorities and professional organisations. Marion is based in France.

Liviu is a forest policy and governance expert with more than 25 years of experience in forest certification, sustainability risk assessment and forest sector reform. He is Associate Professor in Silviculture, Forest Management and Environmental Conflict Management at Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania.

In forest certification, Liviu has contributed to three reviews of the FSC Centralised National Risk Assessment, most recently for FSC International (2024–2025). He served as key expert for the Romanian PEFC national standard and is a member of its standard-setting committee. As a consultant, he led FSC certification preparation for private forest districts (circa 80,000ha), including stakeholder consultation and identifying High Conservation Value Forests. Liviu co-led the elaboration of Romania’s National Forest Strategy 2030 and contributed to drafting the new Romanian Forest Code.

He has advised the World Bank, UNECE, WWF and the Romanian Government on forest restoration, bioeconomy and governance in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Uzbekistan. He coordinated the first European-wide assessment of forest property rights across 30 countries and has published widely on forest ownership, forest certification and stakeholder engagement.

Liviu holds an MSc in Environmental Governance from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and a PhD in Forestry Economics from ‘Stefan cel Mare’ University of Suceava, Romania.

Liviu is based in Suceava, Romania.

Hinako joined the Renewable Energy Section of Hanwa Co Ltd in April 2020. Her main responsibilities include the trading and marketing of biomass products such as palm kernel shells (PKS), wood pellets, and biocarbon, as well as project development and sustainability initiatives.

In the field of sustainability, Hinako has organised webinars for the Japanese biomass market to provide guidance on sustainability requirements and certification schemes. She has also launched certification support services for GGL certification in Japan, while providing certification support and due diligence consulting to pellet suppliers in Southeast Asia. Her experience covers a wide range of certification schemes, including FSC, PEFC, SBP, GGL, JIA, ISCC EU, ENplus, and SURE.

Hinako is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Miguel is a sustainability expert with over 15 years of experience specialising in RSPO, Bonsucro, and ISCC standards. He empowers companies to navigate complex issues such as Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), High Conservation Values (HCVs), High Carbon Stock (HCS), human rights, and environmental and social impacts. His extensive fieldwork across Latin America and Africa provides unique insights into local agricultural biomass production challenges. As a Chain of Custody trainer and consultant, Miguel guides global companies in tracing sustainable products, including palm derivatives, oleochemicals, sugarcane, biofuels, and innovative circular economy and bioeconomy solutions, such as circular plastics and bioplastics. Recognised for his practical expertise, Miguel serves on the Bonsucro Members Council and the RSPO Complaints Panel. Since 2016, he has been an endorsed trainer for RSPO P&C and SCC Lead Auditors, training approximately 100 potential auditors annually. Miguel is based in Spain.