Earning the Certificate
SFI and FSC were once far apart on several key policy issues regarding forest and wood certification. Now, environmentalists and timber industry experts consider them fairly close on most policies, including the requirement for all legal owners of certified wood along the entire supply chain to carry a chain?of-custody certificate. Here’s the typical process for earning that certificate from either–or both–groups:
Pre-Audit
- Designate someone or a small team to lead your operation’s efforts to earn and maintain a chain?of-custody certificate.
- Contact one or more FSC- or SFI-accredited auditor. Llists are available at the respective Web sites of each group.
- Contact other LBM certificate holders for recommendations and insight. Lists are available at the respective Web sites of each group.
- Gather from auditors a copy of the chain?of-custody certification standards and policies to prepare for the audit; request pre-assessments and advice.
- Complete and submit an application to the auditor from whom you want to receive bids. Contract with a selected auditor. The audit will cost about $3,000 plus any extra internal costs to meet the standards.
- Consider applying for a simultaneous SFI and FSC audit to save costs and enable more options to supply certified wood.
- Consider centralized control and procedures and record-keeping of certified material if you have several locations.
- Confirm reliable sources and potential purchasers of certified material.
During the Audit
Demonstrate and document …
Sources of certified material, including copies of each supplier’s chain?of-custody certificate on file.
- A paper trail of certified material moving through the operation, including purchase, delivery, inventory, shipment, receipt, forwarding, re-manufacturing (such as an in-house or off-site truss plant or millwork shop), and invoicing.
- A schedule, agenda, and recordkeeping for initial and on-going training of staff that will handle transactions and the certified material.
- A separate area or clear demarcation of certified material in the yard to mitigate commingling with non-certified stock.
- The ability to report on the sale of certified materials by a customer.
Post-Audit
Document any remedies to gaps in the recordkeeping process identified in the audit and submit the revised procedures to the auditor.
- Keep copies and the original chain-of-custody certificate to provide to purchasers upon request.
- Maintain separate records of all certified-material transactions for at least five years.
- Notify the auditor if you want to expand or change the scope and range of certified material covered by the certificate, or if you add a location that wants to buy, sell, or re-manufacture certified material.
- Submit to an annual audit (12 months after the award of certificate), which costs about the same as the initial audit.
–Rich Binsacca
