When Domino's advertised its "smokehouse" pizzas in 2023, it trumpeted that the meat was smoked over timber logged from "Aussie Mountain ash".

It also advertised that the timber was certified as sustainable.

But what the advertising didn't promote was that mountain ash forests are critically endangered, with logging listed as one of the key processes threatening them.


And now the ABC can reveal the certification that assured consumers that logging was sustainable was breached in seven different ways, according to the organisation that accredits certifiers.

Those breaches included potentially stealing the trees from the neighbouring state forest, ignoring protections for waterways and logging potential endangered species habitat.


"Logging operations are being certified that should not be," said Professor David Lindenmayer of ANU, one of the world's leading forest ecologists.

"Again, we've seen a failure of regulation at a number of levels, not only within government but within other bodies that are supposed to be assuring the public that timber is being sustainably produced."

The woodchips used to smoke the pizzas came from Powelltown sawmill in Mount Horsfall, Victoria, which conducted logging on a nearby private property.

The certification for the logging was awarded by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Australians rely on the FSC logo to make informed decisions about the timber products they buy, ensuring that they are sustainable and not contributing to deforestation or impacting threatened species.

But in 2023 Chris Taylor, from the Australian National University, discovered the logging on the property appeared to have been conducted outside the boundaries of the private property, in the neighbouring state forest.


He also found the logging had been conducted within 200 metres of a Leadbeater's possum sighting.

An investigation by Assurance Services International (ASI), who accredit FSC certifiers and investigates alleged breaches to FSC standards, found that it couldn't establish the logging stayed outside of the public state forest.

It also found Powelltown logged potential habitat of Leadbeater's possums, among a slew of other damning findings.

Powelltown sawmills told the ABC its timber harvesting at Mount Horsfall was in full compliance with all relevant environmental regulations and forestry legislation.

Dr Taylor initially raised the issue with Victoria's Office of the Conservation Regulator in November 2023, who dismissed it on the basis that they were unsure of the boundaries of the state forests they regulate.

"The conservation regulator has now closed this investigation and will not be taking any further action," the regulator wrote to Dr Taylor at the time.


Dr Taylor said the regulator's approach was "extraordinary".

"What's to stop another property owner cutting across the boundary and just saying, 'Well, I don't know where the boundary is'," Dr Taylor said.

"Why are we allowing such loose interpretations of where boundaries are supposed to occur in these forested areas?"


'It's gobsmacking'

When Dr Taylor went to inspect the alleged breaches he was met with a locked gate within state forest, 380 metres from the documented boundary of the Mount Horsfall operation, and a sign that said "private property".

"It's gobsmacking that you can make such a substantial transgression into state forest, where there is threatened species habitat… and not find a transgression," Professor Lindenmayer said.

A spokesperson for the OCR said there was "no single source of truth on the boundary."

"Based on the significant contradictory information and the environmental impacts that would occur if attempts were made to re-establish the boundary to a legal standard, the investigation was completed, and the allegations were not substantiated."

They said the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action was working with the landowner to agree on the property boundary between the state forest and private property.


FSC standard breaches

Dr Taylor eventually took his complaint about Powelltown Sawmill's Mount Horsfall operation to Assurance Services International (ASI), who investigated the certification accreditation body, Soil Association Certification (SAC) and their decision to award the Mount Horsfall operation with FSC certification.

ASI identified seven breaches of FSC standards by Powelltown that had not been picked up by SAC.


It found SAC ignored the boundary uncertainty, despite the risk of illegal logging, failed to prevent logging in potential endangered species habitat and failed to detect that Powelltown had prematurely added the Mount Horsfall property to its FSC certification.

ASI also discovered that Powelltown logged within 40 metre buffer zones put in place to protect water streams and failed to identify known high conservation value areas, which went undetected by SAC.

Dr Taylor has been involved with three different complaints to ASI about inappropriate FSC certification over the years, all of which were found in his favour.

He said certification accreditation bodies such as SAC, who are paid by companies like Powelltown to conduct audits and provide certification, could have a conflict of interest when assessing their clients.

"How is that being effectively monitored so that if a material interest does preside, it doesn't influence or skew the audit decision?" Dr Taylor said.

In a response to questions from the ABC, a spokesperson for FSC said it ensured independence through a "robust" third-party system that separated standard-setting, certification and oversight.


"FSC sets the forest management standards but does not audit forest operations or issue certificates. Instead, certification bodies, such as Soil Association, are independently accredited by ASI to audit against FSC's standards.

"ASI also monitors the adequacy of their certification decisions and investigates concerns about their performance.

"This separation removes conflicts of interests in certification decisions and helps uphold the credibility of the FSC system."

SAC is now required to take formal corrective actions, the FSC spokesperson said.

In a statement to the ABC, SAC said it was taking the matter seriously and is currently reviewing the issues raised by the investigation.

"We place the utmost importance on our integrity and impartiality relating to the execution of our role as a certification body."


Confidence in certification schemes

Australians will be familiar with the FSC symbol.

When Domino's initially advertised their new "mountain ash" smoked meat range pizzas (and then very quickly removed the words "mountain ash") alarm bells went off for Professor Lindenmayer.

"I think Australians should be absolutely appalled that the world's tallest flowering tree is chipped up to make woodchips to smoke pork bellies to put on pizzas. It's ridiculous. What are we talking about? Endangered possum pizzas?" Professor Lindenmayer said.

"It's absurd to be using wood in this way, particularly for such high volume, low value products like wood chips to smoke."
In a statement to the ABC, Domino's said they no longer source any food items directly or indirectly from Powelltown sawmills.

"At the time, we were provided with verified documentation confirming all FSC and sustainability requirements were met," the company said.

Dr Taylor, who has previously served on the FSC board, said FSC standards were good, but needed to be followed and the audits against those standards must be done "thoroughly and properly".

"The standard of a certification scheme is only as good as its worst performing member. If you have operations that are being certified that are not meeting the standard, then that actually brings it down for everybody.

"There can't be a grading system. It's just the [FSC] label."

FSC said the ASI investigation showed the FSC system at work.

"When stakeholders raise concerns and complaints through formal channels…these are independently assessed and addressed through a credible and transparent process."

Written by Angela Heathcote, ABC News.