There are two standards available to those whose business activities involve timber; either as a producer or a user of timber-based products.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation created in 1993 by environmental Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) (wood trade organizations, foresters, and certification bodies) representing 25 countries to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. It stands as the only globally recognised group promoting forestry certification standards.
Contact John to discuss your chain of custody certification requirementsFSC is based on two solutions:
> a Forest Management certificate, for companies that manage natural or planted forests
> a Chain Of Custody certificate, for companies using forest products (i.e., furniture manufacturers, publishers, pulp industries, and all wood products) to attest the wood origin traceability.
FSC certification provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value.
FSC is an international scheme that dictates performance by specifying the level of performance or results that must be achieved. The standard provides a guarantee of quality and therefore it is appropriate to use a product label.
The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is a system based standard where no minimum levels of performance are specified. Performance targets are required together with a management system designed to meet these targets. That way two forest companies both certified by the same system based standard can achieve very different results in the forest. A label associated with this standard therefore is not a guarantee of good performance.
As a result, the FSC standard is more likely to cover future legal requirements in the US and the EU. The PEFC supplier declarations may not provide sufficient evidence for the proof of legal origin.
Mutual recognition of FSC and PEFC certified material in the chain of custody is not yet in place.
Interested in chain of custody certification? Talk to John today!