Introduction to
FSC Chain of Custody Certification
Woodmark Soil Association
COC Induction Training
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
1970s/’80s: Growing awareness
of loss of tropical forests
and unsustainable exploitation
of temperate forests
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
1980’s - campaigns and boycotts
by environmental pressure groups
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Timber boycotts
Environmentalist Timber trade Producers’
perspective: perspective: perspective:
• Raise • Upset customers • Reduce value of
awareness • Upset staff market
• Media friendly • Bad for image • Limit size of
• Activist friendly • Bad for business market
• Easy And • threat of
But: • genuinely substitution (e.g.
• concerns about concerned plastics)
social impact • worried about And
• concerns about security of supply • how to differentiate
long term impact ‘bad forestry’ from
‘good forestry’?
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Environmental image and
corporate responsibility
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Certification schemes’ role:
Environmental image and
corporate responsibility
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
World Bank/WWF
criteria for certification
schemes
• Open access and no discrimination
• Credible
• Transparent
• No conflict of interest
• Participation and acceptance by interested parties
• Honest and without deception
• Assessment must be reliable and independent
• Criteria should be objective and measurable
• International SFM principles should be met with
Nationally developed performance standards
• Adapted to local conditions
• Cost effective
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC)
• FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit
organisation established to promote the responsible
management of the world’s forests.
• Vision: The world’s forests meet the social, ecological,
and economic rights and needs of the present generation
without compromising those of future generations.
• Mission: The Forest Stewardship Council A.C. (FSC)
shall promote environmentally appropriate, socially
beneficial, and economically viable management of the
world's forests.
http://www.fsc.org
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC)
• Founded 1994
• Membership organisation
• 3 Chambers: environmental, social, economic
• Chambers each divided between ‘North’ and
‘South’ countries
• 300+ members from 40+ countries
• International Centre in Bonn, Germany
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC)
FSC International Centre:
• Policy and Standard setting
• Trademark protection
• Co-ordination of National / Regional Offices
• Communication/stakeholder relations
FSC Global Development:
• Develop marketplace
• Trademark assurance
Accreditation Services International :
• Provides accreditation services to certification bodies
http://www.fsc.org
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
FSC Strategic Goals
(2010)
• Goal 1. Provide Leadership in advancing globally responsible forest
management - policy development
• Goal 2. Ensure equitable Access to the benefits of the FSC system –
distribute benefits of FSC certification across supply chain, viable solution
in tropics, increase relevance to small/community forest managers
• Goal 3. Will ensure integrity, credibility and transparency of the FSC
system – monitoring and evaluation
• Goal 4. Products from FSC certified forests will create more
business value than products from non-FSC certified forests -
anticipate market trends, manage product data, develop southern markets
• Goal 5. FSC will strengthen its global network to deliver on all
Global Strategy goals
http://www.fsc.org
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
FSC Standards
FSC Principles & Criteria for Forest
Stewardship
• 10 Principles
• 56 Criteria
• Currently under review (2010)
Basis for national standards developed by
local stakeholders
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
10 FSC Principles
PRINCIPLE #1:
COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND FSC PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLE #2:
TENURE AND USE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
PRINCIPLE #3:
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' RIGHTS
PRINCIPLE #4:
COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND WORKERS’ RIGHTS
PRINCIPLE # 5: BENEFITS FROM THE FOREST
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
10 FSC Principles
PRINCIPLE #6:
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
PRINCIPLE #7:
MANAGEMENT PLAN
PRINCIPLE #8:
MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT
PRINCIPLE #9:
MAINTENANCE OF HIGH CONSERVATION VALUE FORESTS
PRINCIPLE # 10:
PLANTATIONS
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
FSC Facts & Figures
• Total certified area: 135 million hectares
• No. countries: 81
• Total no. forest certificates: 1024
• Total no. chain of custody– 18714
Oct 2010
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Global Forest and Trade Network
WWF
• Creating market for environmentally responsible forest
products (FSC)
• Works with 270+ companies employing over 2.8 million
people
• Represent 18% of every forest product bought or sold
internationally every year:
– with combined annual sales of $68 billion .
– volume: 253 million m3
Oct 2010
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Programme for the Endorsement
of Forest Certification
(PEFC)
• International, non-profit, NGO
• “promotes Sustainable Forest management through
independent third party certification”
• Approx 30 endorsed national certification systems
• >220 million hectares certified forest (largest Certification
system in world)
• Umbrella organisation – endorses national forest
certification systems
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
FSC/PEFC some similarities
FSC:
• Both offer FM and
COC certification
135.22 million ha certified
1020 FM/CoC certificates
• Both cover timber and
non-wood forest 17950 CoC certificates
products
PEFC:
• Both are global,
working with
businesses, 225 million ha forests area:
communities and 482,229 Forest owners
individuals 6796 Companies (CoC)
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
FSC/PEFC some differences
• FSC: • PEFC:
– Transfer, percentage – Percentage based and
and credit system physical separation
method
– Controlled wood – Wood from “non-
controversial sources”
– FSC Standard for
Chain of Custody – PEFC Technical
Certification Documentation Annex
4: Chain of Custody of
Forest-Based
Products
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Soil Association
Woodmark
• NGO /registered charity, based in UK
• Founded 1946 – Forestry Programme 1992
• Founding member of FSC
• Woodmark - certification programme
• Approx. 1000 Chain of custody certificates
• Approx. 250 Forest Management certificates
covering over 9 million hectares
• Soil Association has contracted EcoSylva Ltd. to
operate the Woodmark programme.
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Woodmark FSC certificates
(2010)
Soloman Islands United States
Australia Canada Guyana
Papua New Chile
Guinea
Malaysia
Indonesia
Japan Great Britain
China
South Africa
Tanzania
Swaziland Ireland
Portugal
Namibia Spain
Kenya Italy
Croatia Switzerland
Russia Slovenia Denmark
Bulgaria Slovakia Norway
Romania Czech Republic Sweden
Poland Finland
Hungary Lithuania
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
Woodmark
Auditors
Certification Bodies’ auditors are the front line and
it is their work that is being judged and upon
which our clients rely.
We will only earn respect for what we do and what
FSC and PEFC stands for if we demonstrate
integrity in all that we do and continually strive to
improve our own performance.
This is where you come in…..
FSC® Accredited - FSC-ACC-002
