Revised Advice Notes on evaluation of contractors against FSC core labour requirements published
On 1 August 2024, FSC published the new versions of the advice notes:
- FSC-ADVICE-40-004-23 V2-0 Evaluation of Contractors against the FSC Core Labour Requirements
- FSC-ADVICE-20-011-16 V2-0 Evaluation of Contractors against the FSC Core Labour Requirements.
Main changes include:
- split between the requirements across the two advice notes, whereas previously the same advice note content was provided in the both directives (FSC-DIR-40-004 and FSC-DIR-20-011). This is to clearly separate requirements aimed at organizations (certificate holders and applicants) and those aimed at certification bodies (CB).
- enhanced the terms and definition section, to provide more clarity.
- amended the structure of the requirements, particularly for the CB’s risk evaluation, to make it more understandable.
- added sampling for ‘low risk’ for a more risk-based approach - previously, this had only been provided for ‘high-risk’ outsourcing agreements.
- added more flexibility for certification bodies, by providing the Annex with indices which can be referenced if, based on the provided information, the certification body considers the stakeholder to be low risk.
Effective and Transition End Dates
The derogation remains in place until the effective date of these new versions, with the plan to remove the previous version to avoid any confusion on what requirements are to be followed from 1 November 2024 onwards.
These advice notes are effective from 1 November 2024, with transition end dates of 31 December 2025.
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.
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
Topics that will be presented during the consultation
The consultation is based on a the Conceptual Phase Report which can be accessed here.
Participation in the consultation
To participate in the consultation in English, please visit the FSC Consultation Platform.
For guidance on how to participate in the consultation and provide your feedback, please review this guide here.
Webinars
FSC will conduct four webinars 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):
Revised advice note "Maximum hectare threshold for very limited portion" has been published
FSC has published the second version of advice note ADVICE-20-007-23 "Maximum hectare threshold for very limited portion." The effective date remains October 1, 2023.
This second version includes the following changes to address the main concerns of the first version:
- This Advice Note does not apply retroactively to any form of conversion prior to its effective date. This includes both conversion that has already taken place, as well as conversion that was planned and agreed upon through contracts or similar written commitments but has not yet been completed at the time of the advice note’s effective date.
- Chamber balanced Standard Development Groups are now only allowed to set a lower hectare threshold following FSC requirements for standard setting processes.
The advice note is compiled under FSC-DIR-20-007 Forest Management Evaluations.