Confused about the FSC Chain of Custody Process? Want to know more?

The Chain of Custody Certification Process

The FSC System
There are two parts to the FSC System:
1) Forest Management certification ensures that the forest is managed to high standards covering social, environmental and economic issues.
2) Chain of Custody certification traces the wood from those forests through all stages of processing and distribution.
Chain of Custody
The FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) standard:

• Ensures FSC certified wood is accounted for as it passes along the supply chain;
• Ensures that when FSC certified wood is mixed with other wood, the non FSC certified wood does not come from controversial sources
• Provides for use of recycled/reclaimed material
• Provides a range of on-product and promotional labeling options

Who Needs FSC Chain of Custody Certification?
Companies or individuals that process, transform, or trade (take legal ownership of) FSC-certified forest products that wish to label products with the FSC label or make product claims must have a chain of custody certificate.

How do you get a CoC Certificate?

1. Contact an FSC accredited certifier
2. Submit an application to the certifier
3. Complete an on-site assessment
4. Receive certification approval
5. Undergo annual audits

The Chain of Custody Standard FSC-STD-40-004
You can download a copy of the Standard from http://www.fsc.org/134.html. The standard sets out the requirements for achieving FSC chain of custody, including:

1. Quality systems
2. Wood and fiber sourcing
3. Production controls and record keeping
4. Labeling
5. Documentation

What is needed to earn Chain of Custody?
These are the steps needed to earn a certificate:

• Check that your suppliers have their own current FSC CC certification and that this covers the FSC certified material they are (or will be) selling to you;
• Set up your CoC Quality Management system;
  
• Define the Products Groups that will be sold with an FSC label;
• Contact a Certification Body (CB) to arrange an assessment.

Transfer System
Use the Transfer System if:

• You are using 100% FSC certified wood as a raw material;
• You are using only FSC Mixed Sources raw material;
• You are using 100% verified post-consumer reclaimed material;
• You are trading in, or packing, finished products;
• You are combining, within a single product, materials covered by different FSC claims but do not want to make complex calculations - for example, if you produce books with FSC Mixed Sources text, FSC Recycled cover and FSC 100% endpapers, you can simply use the FSC Mixed Sources label as 'lowest common denominator.'

Credit System
Use the Credit System if:

• You cannot obtain enough FSC certified material to reach the 70% labeling threshold
• Not all your customers want an FSC certified/FSC labeled product

Chain of Custody
This is defined as 'the path taken by raw materials, processed materials or finished products from the forest to the consumer including each stage of transformation, manufacturing, storage and transport where progress to the next stage involves a change of ownership of the materials or products.'

Exception to Chain of Custody
These operations do not require FSC Chain of Custody

1. Companies who pack non-forest products into cartons produced by FSC certified printers, even though they may buy the cartons and sell on the packed products to the Retailer.
2. Companies who are doing work for an FSC certified company under the company's Outsourcing Policy and who do not take ownership of the products.
3. Shippers or transport companies handling goods owned by a FSC CoC certified company.

FSC Labels
The standard FSC label which is actually applied to a product or its packaging. The labels are

• FSC 100%
• FSC Mixed Sources (with or without recycled content)
• FSC 100% Recycled

FSC Trademarks
The FSC 'tick tree' logo, the name Forest Stewardship Council and the initials FSC are all registered trademarks and cannot be used without permission from a CB (for CoC holders) or from FSC (for all others).

More information and support
More information can be found at the FSC-US website . Copies of standards, policies and advice notes are on the FSC International site www.fsc.org in the Document Centre. FSC-US can provide information on where to get more help to prepare for certification. The certification bodies can also provide helpful advice.

Frequently Asked Questions
Q How much will certification cost?
A Charges vary between CBs so you should get at least two quotes.

Q I don't handle the products, do i need CoC?
A Yes, if you take legal ownership of the products and issue invoices to your customers.

Q Do all our products have to be FSC?
A No, but you must make sure they cannot get mixed up.

Q We will not be taking delivery of any FSC materials yet, but can we proceed with getting CoC?
A Yes. However, the CB will want to come for a brief visit once you start handling or processing FSC products to make sure your systems are working properly.

Q Our raw materials are FSC Mixed Sources. Do we have to carry out a risk assessment on the supplier's non-FSC sources?
A No. Any material supplied as FSC Mixed Sources of FSC Controlled Wood, and covered by valid certification, can go into your products without further checking.

Q Do we have to put an FSC label on our products?
A No, but they m ust be sold with the correct FSC claim on the sales documents. Products such as sawn timber are often not labeled.

For any other questions concerning FSC Chain of Custody Certification contact our Customer Service Representatives @ 585-482-5340 or visit www.fsc.org