FSC Chain-of-Custody & Controlled Wood Update for Audits November 2007

2 Topics Chain-of-Custody Standards in Controlled Wood Required in 2008 Conformance with New/Revised Standards FSC-ACC-004 © 1996 Forest Stewardship Council A.C. This information intended for companies issued FSC CoC certificates or pending certification prior to 2008

3 FSC Chain-of-Custody: CoC Standards in

4 CoC Standards in 2008 FSC-STD Version 2 Required for new applicants to certification; optional for all other companies FSC-STD Version 1 An optional standard for manufacturers since October 2004 SmartWood December 2004 (Based on FSC Acc. Man. Part 3.6) Based on original FSC CoC principles; applicable to all company types FSC-POL FSC Policy on Percentage Based Claims Requirements used with SW Dec 04 standard for minimum percent of FSC in products mixing FSC-certified, non-FSC virgin, and/or reclaimed inputs SmartWood Limited Scope (Based on V1) An optional standard for manufacturers using FSC inputs only for FSC product groups

5 CoC Standard Applicability CompanySW Dec 04 (FSC Acc. Man. Part 3.6) Limited Scope ( V1) V V Audits/Reassessments (Existing Certificate Holders) ManufacturersOptional Brokers, distributors OptionalN/A Optional Printers, paper merchants OptionalN/A Optional 2009 Audits/Reassessments All company types Obsolete Required * V2 is required for all new assessments initiated in 2008

6 CoC Standard Applicability: V2 required for all new applicants for certification Existing certificate holders may remain audited against the same CoC standard used during their 2007 audit (i.e., V2 not yet required) Companies may choose to implement V2 prior to their 2009 annual audit via an expansion audit and/or annual audit; pre-approval from SW is required

7 CoC Standard Applicability: V2 becomes the official FSC CoC standard and is required for all new assessments, annual audits, reassessments of all company types All other CoC standards become obsolete Note: depending on V2 final format, SW CoC Limited Scope standard may be updated accordingly

8 FSC Controlled Wood: FSC-STD V2 CW Standard Required in 2008 (Standard for Company Evaluation of Controlled Wood)

9 CW Effective Dates CW applies to: Companies that use non-FSC virgin inputs in FSC-certified product groups; companies currently evaluated against V1 or FSC-POL (percentage-based claims policy) 1 st January 2007: Required for evaluation of primary manufacturers during assessments, audits, reassessments 1 st January 2008: Required for evaluation of all company types during assessments, audits, reassessments

10 CW Evaluation in 2008 Prior to 2008 Audit/Reassessment: All applicable companies shall update their systems for CW according to V2 (see following slide regarding systems) During 2008 Audit/Reassessment: All applicable companies are evaluated for conformance against V2; CARs are issued as applicable From 2008 Audit/Reassessment: All applicable companies shall implement new/updated systems for CW according to V2 Note: per the 1/1/07 effective date, primary manufacturers shall have already been audited against and implemented CW during 2007.

11 Company Systems for CW 1.1 Company PolicyPublicly available written policy commitment to avoid certain wood 2.0 Documented Procedures /Work Instructions Specific procedures according to V2 3.0 Training RequirementsSpecific requirements for training according to V2 8.1 Verification of Origin of Supply (Company Verification Program) Applicable when supply is not “FSC CW” from an FSC-certified supplier 11.0, Annex 2 Risk Assessment (Company Verification Program) Applicable when supply is not “FSC CW” from an FSC-certified supplier 13.0, Annex 3 Verification Program for Sources with Unspecified Risk Applicable to supply from non-low risk sources but the company chooses to confirm as CW *See V2-1 for complete requirements

12 CW Resources FSC International: FSC-GUI FSC Controlled Wood Risk Assessments by FSC National Initiatives (2007); Controlled Wood User Friendly Guide 2007.pdf (A guide for FSC chain of custody certified companies) FSC National Initiatives (NIs): CW Toolkit: Draft FSC Canada CW Information Matrix: Draft FSC US Guidance on CW: Check with your local NI for additional resources Consultants: Independent contractors are available to assist in designing systems, conducting risk assessments, and more

13 Evaluating Conformance: Conformance Expectations for New/Revised Standards

14 Standard Conformance Existing certificate holders are expected to have systems updated according to new/revised standards by the company’s regularly scheduled annual audit/reassessment during the year the standard has become effective. Auditors evaluate the company against the standard requirements per normal procedures. Corrective Action Requests (CARs) are issued per normal procedures.

15 Conformance Classification FSC’s CoC Evaluation Standard (20-011) is followed for conformance classification and issuance of CARs: Minor Non-conformanceMajor Non-conformance May result in failure to achieve the objective of the requirement Temporary lapse, orContinues over a long period of time, or Unusual and non-systematic, orRepeated or systematic, or Impacts of the non-conformance are limited in temporal or organizational scale, and Affects a wide range of the operation, or Non-conformance does not result in a fundamental failure to achieve the objective of the requirement. Non-conformance is not corrected or adequately responded to by the responsible managers once it is identified.

16 CAR Avoidance Avoid CARs by having systems fully updated and ready to implement according to the standard that will be used for the audit

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