Consultation on Revision of FSC’s Chain of Custody standards

FSC launches conceptual phase consultation for its Chain of Custody Standards. The consultation is open from 16 August 2024 till 15 October 2024.

FSC is revising the Chain of Custody Standards and the corresponding accreditation standard. These standards ensure that products which are sold with an FSC claim originate from well-managed forests, controlled sources, reclaimed materials, or a mixture of these. For more information, please visit the process page and the revision page.

The standards included in this consultation are the following:

• FSC-STD-40-004 Chain of Custody Certification
• FSC-STD-40-007 Sourcing Reclaimed Material for use in FSC Product Groups or FSC Certified Projects
• FSC-STD-40-003 Chain of Custody Certification of Multiple Sites
• FSC-PRO-40-003 Development of National Group Chain of Custody Eligibility Criteria

As part of the conceptual phase, FSC is conducting a public consultation and would like to invite interested stakeholders to participate. In this conceptual phase, key topics that are proposed to be addressed during the revision and questions for consideration will be included. Input and results from this consultation will inform the next phase, including the development of a Terms of Reference for working groups. Some topics include:

• Expanding Core Labour Requirements
• Providing more clarity on outsourcing
• Combining all Chain of Custody Standards with a modular approach
• Risk-based approach for evaluations

For more information on the key topics for the revision please visit here.

The consultation is based on a the Conceptual Phase Report which can be accessed here.

The consultation will be open from 16 August 2024 until 15 October 2024. To participate in the consultation in English or Spanish, please visit here and for French, please visit here. For guidance on how to participate in the consultation and provide your feedback, please review this guide here. 

To complement this consultation, FSC will conduct four webinars with simultaneous translation in Spanish and French for stakeholders to provide feedback and learn more about proposed key changes. To join, please register in advance using the following links (webinar content will be the same):

• Wednesday 04 September 2024: 9:00 -10:30 CET
• Wednesday 04 September 2024: 16:00 – 17:30 CET
• Wednesday 25 September 2024: 9:00 -11:30 CET
• Wednesday 25 September 2024: 16:00 – 17:30 CET