FSC invites public comment on the second revised draft standard for Chain of Custody (COC) certification of multiple sites. This draft standard merges the FSC policy for group certification and the FSC standard for multi-site certification.
The FSC standard for Multi-site COC certification FSC-STD-40-003 was developed for companies operating at multiple locations and was published in 2007.
The FSC policy for Group COC certification standard was designed to make COC certification accessible to small operations for which individual COC certification may be too costly and was first introduced in 2002.
Both standards allow Certification Bodies to evaluate participating operations or sites based on audit sampling, recognising common central administration and control structures. The merging of the standards contributes to the simplification of COC standards, while also recognising the existing structural differences between group and multi-site organizations.
The draft standard also responds to the FSC membership Motion 45 of the last General Assembly in 2011, that asks FSC to examine the barriers and opportunities for enhanced FSC-retailer collaboration, by designing requirements to specifically facilitate their certification.
The first revised draft standard was publicly consulted between mid February and mid April, 2012.
Based on stakeholder feedback (see list of compiled comments available for download below) and guidance of the established Technical Working Group a second draft was created and is now open for public consultation until 02 April 2013.
The draft standard is currently being translated into Spanish and will also be distributed once finalised.
Please provide your comments by using the comment form available below and send your comments to Dorothee Jung at d.jung@fsc.org.
