Chain of Custody (FSC/PEFC)
Chain of Custody certification can be the companies first step on the ladder on the environmental journey. It is a relatively easy process to achieve and has a lot less day to day maintenance than the main environmental accreditation 14001.A Chain of Custody system provides an audited record from the end product back through all stages of the supply chain to the forest.
A Chain of Custody certificate gives the end user the comfort of knowing that the end product comes from a well managed sustainable forest which protects long term timber supplies as well as the environment and the people and communities that depend on the forest for their livelihood.
In order to maintain the links of the chain each stage must have certification where the timber has a physical change or change of legal ownership of the timber.
FSC - Forest Stewardship Council was set up in 1993 in order to help promote sustainable forests and create a wood labelling scheme for Chain of Custody.
FSC now has working groups across 43 countries with 90 million hectares of forest certified across 82 countries and is well supported by Friends of The Earth, WWF, Greenpeace and the The Woodland Trust. FSC is a registered charity in the UK
Many High street names now carry the FSC Chain of Custody logo on everything from toilet rolls, sandwich wrappers, paper cups, toys, furniture, guitars and printed products.
PEFC - Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification was founded in 1999 and is a non - profit making organisation.
PEFC currently has over 200 million hectares of certified forests producing millions of tonnes of certified timber to the market place making PEFC the world's largest certification scheme.
Wood from PEFC forests is being used in sustainable homes and paper and card has recently been used in large print productions runs helping promote corporate sustainability commitments.
