FSC policy responses to COVID-19 expiring

From May 1, the collection of derogations, interpretations and FAQs related to the pandemic COVID-19 will be no longer valid.   

To protect certificate holders and certification body staff during the pandemic COVID-19, FSC first issued in 2020 a set of policy responses that provided certain options and flexibilities primarily related to auditing of certified forests and chains of custody. During the last years FSC monitored the global development of the pandemic and extended the validity of the policy responses as needed.    

In response to the development of the past months FSC concluded to not further extend the validity of the COVID-19 policy responses, meaning that all derogations and interpretations will expire on 30 April 2023.