Chain of Custody Certification

FSC chain of custody certification verifies that FSC-certified material has been identified and separated from ineligible and unacceptable material as it makes its way along the supply chain from the forest to the market.

FSC chain of custody certification covers a variety of situations and entities, ensuring that many organisations can demonstrate their commitment to FSC’s requirements. This means that not only single organisations can be certified, but so can groups of independent organisations and organisations with multiple sites. There is even an option for certification of individual projects rather than organisations.

The material used in the FSC chain of custody can come from a variety of sources. While the overwhelming majority comes from FSC-certified forests, the FSC chain of custody requirements also allow the introduction of reclaimed material that would otherwise go to waste, and material that has been assessed as a low risk of coming from unacceptable sources.

The following relevant documents are available to download in the FSC Document Centre:

FSC-STD-40-004 Chain of Custody Certification

FSC-STD-40-004a FSC Product Classification

FSC-STD-40-003 Chain of Custody Certification of Multiple Sites

FSC-STD-40-006 FSC Standard for Project Certification

FSC-STD-40-007 Sourcing reclaimed material for use in FSC Product Groups or FSC Certified Projects

FSC-STD-40-005 Requirements for Sourcing FSC Controlled Wood

FSC chain of custody certificate holders are required to implement the FSC core labour requirements in their operations and must be able to demonstrate this to external third-party auditors.

To comply with the FSC core labour requirements, the organisation must:

• Not use child labour.
• Eliminate all forms of forced and compulsory labour.
• Ensure that there is no discrimination in employment and occupation.
• Respect freedom of association and the effective right to collective bargaining.

Core Labour Requirements Self-Assessment Templates

Part of conforming with the FSC core labour requirements is that organisations are required to assess how they already meet the requirements with a self-assessment. To help organisations with implementing the FSC core labour requirements, FSC has developed some country-specific self-assessment templates that provide more details than the generic self-assessment form found in the chain of custody standard.

Download the Australian and New Zealand templates below: