Sustainability FWPA coc certification guide sellers (2007)

Timber Chain of Custody Certification Product tracking from the forest to the consumer Forest Manager Primary Processor Secondary Processor ✓ Seller ✓ Wholesalers  |  ✓ Merchants  |  ✓ Retailers  |  ✓ Publishers  | Forest Forest Manager Primary Processor Secondary Processor Seller Consumer Demonstrating environmental leadership and product stewardship Timber Chain of Custody Certification There is growing awareness of certification in the marketplace for forest products and an increasing desire by consumers to support sustainable forest management by buying certified products Forest and Chain of Custody certification enables consumers to make informed purchasing choices, giving them confidence that the certified products they purchase have come from forests that have been managed in accordance with a certification standard that meets specified management criteria This brochure explains the concept of Chain of Custody certification for timber products in Australia and how easy it is to implement it into your business Chain of Custody (CoC) Chain of Custody refers to all the steps in the process of taking certified products from the forest, through the various manufacturing and distribution stages and ultimately to the point where the final consumer purchases the product This includes manufacture, trading, broking, wholesaling and retailing Importantly, the Chain of Custody includes all steps of ownership, not just those involving physical possession Certifying the Chain of Custody The concept behind certification of the Chain of Custody is to: • describe (in the form of a documented ‘standard’) the requirements expected at each stage in the process, and • provide recognition of an organisation’s compliance with the ‘standard’ through a system of accredited, independent third party certification For a product to be labelled as being made from certified material or to have claims regarding forest management, there must be an unbroken chain of certified organisations covering every change in legal ownership of the product from the point labels are applied or claims are made (which may be the retailer or the manufacturer) right back to the certified forest Example of a fully certified chain of custody (furniture) CoC CERTIFICATE Assumes timber delivered FURNITURE FACTORY Transport furniture CoC CERTIFICATE Assumes logs purchased at stump, timber delivered WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTOR Transport timber SAWMILL Transport sawn timber FOREST MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE Transport logs FOREST CoC CERTIFICATE Assumes furniture delivered RETAILER CONSUMER CoC CERTIFICATE Assumes retailer adds own labels/claims Note: Transport companies not generally have legal ownership of products and so not require separate certification Chain of Custody certification in Australia is available through two schemes: • the Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFCS), and • the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) program AFCS and FSC have developed their own ‘standards’ – documents that set down the requirements that each enterprise in the supply chain needs to meet in order to protect the integrity of the claim that “products are from certified forests” Using these standards individual companies within the supply chain are able to implement a Chain of Custody system within their own operations Once implemented, the final step is actual “certification” which then allows supply chain companies to label and advertise their involvement within the certified scheme Chain of Custody certification enables companies to: • identify and control their sources of certified, non-certified and recycled timber; • demonstrate to their customers the environmental integrity of their products; and • use the relevant trademarks, labels and claims to promote the social and environmental qualities of their products to the market Certifying the Chain of Custody – Sellers Enterprises that not transform paper or timber products, rather they simply sell them - be they wholesalers, timber merchants, product retailers or publishers – may also be required to obtain Chain of Custody certification If, for example, a retailer wants to add its own labelling or claims (for instance in promotional material) above and beyond that applied by certified organisations further up the supply chain, the retailer is required to obtain certification If, on the other hand, the retailer simply wanted to stock and sell certified material that had been packaged by the (certified) manufacturer and make no additional claims about the products and did not attach its own labels, there would be no need for the retailer to be certified The end consumer could make an informed decision based on the labelling and/or claims already made by the manufacturer and demonstrated through the manufacturers own packaging or product information In regards to simply selling a product, certification requirements are much more straightforward than they are for processors and manufacturers Once a timber product is in its final form, controlling and verifying the Chain of Custody is a much simpler task Products are mostly packaged in some way, greatly assisting storage and identification As merchants and retailers often deal with products from a wide range of manufacturers, maintenance of the paper trail and product identification and labelling become the Chain of Custody activities Companies seeking to obtain Chain of Custody certification are required to demonstrate that they meet a series of requirements under five separate components: QUALITY SYSTEMS MATERIAL SOURCING PRODUCTION CONTROLS TRANSACTION DOCUMENTATION LABELLING Though the scope of both the AFCS and FSC schemes is essentially the same it should be noted that neither scheme recognises certified material from the other scheme as a legitimate certified source Companies that wish to support both schemes will therefore require separate Chain of Custody certification Fortunately, the requirements of the FSC and AFCS standards are highly similar, minimising additional requirements on companies keen to pursue both schemes Quality systems: A  ddresses the company’s internal procedures, staff responsibilities and record keeping Companies need to have: requirement FSC AFCS No1 Policies Management policies covering – certification claims, integrity of the CoC system, compliance with laws and/or regulations, recognition of collective bargaining rights and continuous improvement Documented procedures Documented procedures for all aspects of its Chain of Custody activities, including staff assignment of task responsibilities 3 Responsibilities A single person is assigned overall responsibility for the CoC system and all key staff know and understand their responsibilities 3 Scope of the system A publicly available schedule of certified products No Training • All staff at an appropriate level of skill and competency to implement CoC responsibilities • Training is provided where required 3 Records Detailed records of all aspects of CoC system implementation Records are retained for a minimum of five years 3 Continuous improvement Mechanisms to ensure continuous improvement of their CoC system No Internal audits Internal audits of CoC system and implement corrective actions to address non-conformities No Occupational health and safety OH&S policies that meet applicable laws and/or regulations No2 Final inspection A final inspection of certified products prior to distributing to next link No FSC has policy commitment requirements with respect to the purchase of controlled wood The FSC standard does not address occupational health and safety issues However, some certification bodies have introduced their own basic health and safety requirements MATERIAL SOURCING: D  eals with identifying the wood that goes into a certified product – a fundamental concept of Chain of Custody Companies need to: Receipt and storage of material Verify and record quantities of materials and store certified material separately to non-certified material Production controls: A  ddresses the company’s requirements in terms of monthly records of production requirement FSC AFCS 3 requirement Production controls are not relevant at this point in the supply chain for Chain of Custody certification TRANSACTION DOCUMENTATION: A  ccurate documentation ensures that the Chain of Custody is maintained from one company to the next Companies need to: Sales invoices Record the following information: • Date; • Name and address of buyer; • Description of certified products sold; • Type of certified products (FSC – Pure, Mixed, certified %) (AFCS – category of input material’s origin, % certified raw material); • Quantity of certified products sold; • Cross-reference to shipping documents (if invoiced separately); and • Chain of Custody certificate number Shipping documentation Ensure if products shipped separately to invoice, that shipping documents contain same set of details required of invoices Sales records Ensure that sales records include: • quantities of certified products sold and that these records are kept; and • the names of buyers ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ No3 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 3 3 No3 3 LABELLING: Allows certified product to be branded and recognised by the market Companies need to: Labelling Rules Conform with the relevant rules based on the materials used in the product The Australian taxation system, though use of ABNs and the GST, covers the provision of this information on an invoice Frequently asked questions for Sellers Who needs Chain of Custody certification? Sawmillers, manufacturers of wood products, wholesalers, importers, retailers, builders, printers – in fact, all those supply chain organisations that want to advertise their products as certified or whose customers request certified products If I’m a seller receiving branded certified products I need Chain of Custody certification? If you simply want to stock and sell certified material that has been packaged by a (certified) manufacturer and make no additional claims about the products and not attach your own labels, then there would be no need for you to be certified The end consumer could make an informed decision based on the labelling and/or claims already made by the manufacturer and demonstrated through the manufacturers own packaging or product information Can I have single certification for a business that operates on multiple sites? Yes, multi-site certification is available How long will the actual certification process take? Assuming that your procedures are in place and there are no major non-conformances identified, a period of one to three months from accepting a quote from a certifier should be sufficient For single site operations, a site assessment will normally last 1-2 days How long does my Chain of Custody certificate last – how often I have to be re-audited? Your Chain of Custody certificate lasts for five years under FSC and three under AFCS The schemes require a process of annual surveillance audits What if I want to promote the fact that I sell certified products and use the brands in my promotional programs? What happens if I buy both AFCS and FSC certified timber and I want to promote certified products? Then you will need Chain of Custody certification for your company If you buy both AFCS and FSC certified timber and you want to claim and promote certification on the timber you on-sell, then you would have to undertake both AFCS and FSC Chain of Custody certification and undertake the appropriate processes in compliance with these standards What are the benefits of certification? Certification satisfies the requirements of those customers who wish to purchase certified products - there appears to be an emerging trend in the use of new environmentally based design specifications, these generally require timber products to be certified Certification also provides added value to the products you sell, giving them a verifiable environmental and social quality and it demonstrates that your company takes the environmental concerns of its staff and customers seriously How much will the process cost? Costs vary according to the nature of the operation, but comprise two components: 1. Certifier costs – costs of main assessment and annual surveillance audits For a single site operation, the main assessment cost is likely to be in the range $1,500 to $3000 Costs for annual surveillance audits will be less – around 60% of main assessment costs 2. Licence/logo use fees to AFCS or FSC – these are based on turnover (for AFCS a