Closing soon: Public consultation to strengthen FSC standards and continue fighting deforestation globally 

FSC is updating its sustainable forestry requirements with three concurrent public consultations. This consultation includes system-wide changes to align with the intention of FSC’s Policy to Address Conversion, the updated FSC Risk Assessment Framework and FSC Regulatory Module. The public consultation for these requirements is open until 1 March 2024 on the Consultation Platform.  

Risk Assessment Framework Consultation 

The next generation of FSC’s existing risk assessment framework for controlled wood sourcing are being updated as FSC Risk Assessments, now available for all certification types and even non-certified companies. We envisage that these will become invaluable tools for companies to assess and mitigate risks efficiently. FSC Risk Assessments contain 76 indicators for social and environmental protections, going beyond regulatory requirements to ensure material is sourced responsibly. Learn more here. 

Alignment with the intention of FSC’s new Policy to Address Conversion  

To further tighten the FSC system to deliver deforestation-free products, FSC is fast tracking the implementation of changes from the intention of FSC’s Policy to Address Conversion. These changes are introduced in the form of Advice Notes to the existing certification system - which will ultimately ensure products from any sort of conversion that is possible, even in exceptional circumstances as in the Policy to Address Conversion, do not enter the system as an “FSC Claim.” Additional Advice Notes for chain of custody and controlled wood users are included in the consultation to support the implementation of the Regulatory Module and align with global best practices. Learn more here. 

FSC Regulatory Module: Supporting compliance with EUDR 

A key part of FSC’s offer is the development of requirements for the FSC Regulatory Module: a voluntary module that complements existing FSC certification requirements to support EUDR compliance. It presents additional forest management, chain of custody and controlled wood requirements for organizations looking to use their FSC certification to support their efforts to demonstrate compliance with EUDR.  

Understand how the FSC Regulatory Module applies to you 

To help understand the proposed additional requirements within the FSC Regulatory Module please review the infokit here and learn about what applies to you based on your user type with our interactive user journey here: FSC EUDR (fsc-eudr-journey.org). To access the recording and slides from the webinars supporting the module please visit the process page here.  

EUDR Aligned 

As well as the incoming normative changes, FSC’s alignment towards EUDR will be strongly supported by the upgrades that FSC is working on to improve its certification infrastructure towards digitization and improved data management and access to support companies in meeting EUDR’s traceability requirements; including FSC Blockchain.  All of these digital and normative solutions come together to create a comprehensive package called FSC EUDR Aligned.  

To learn more about FSC & EUDR, please visit our webpage or read our FAQ. Stay informed on the evolution of the FSC Regulatory Module by checking the process page.