As we draw closer to December 30, 2025, when the European Union Regulation on Deforestation-free Products 2023/1115 (EUDR) will become applicable to large and medium companies, FSC has been considering how our certification system can remain responsive to the needs of the market and support Certificate Holders in complying with their obligations under the EUDR.
This Advice Note (ADV-PRO-60-006b_01) was developed to align FSC’s methodology for the assessment of Indicator 55 (which relates to the conversion of natural forests and transformation of plantations to agricultural use) with the EU benchmarking results released in May 2025, which designated countries as ‘high’ or ‘low’ risk.
Consultation
The process for creating this Advice Note followed an accelerated process according to PRO-01-001 V4-0 Development and Revision of FSC Requirements.
A focused consultation on the draft Advice Note was held from August 18th to September 1st, 2025, with interested stakeholders. Sixty-eight responses were received during this timeframe, with the largest percentage of responses from the European region.
Overall, majority of the responses were supportive of the proposed changes in the draft Advice Note, however, many respondents raised concerns regarding the methodology underpinning the EU benchmarking results. We thank all stakeholders who participated in the consultation for their constructive comments.
Implementation
This Advice Note has two effective dates:
November 1, 2025: For all the parties involved in the development or revision of FSC Risk Assessments in accordance with FSC-PRO-60-006b V2-0 Risk Assessment Framework.
January 1, 2026: For organizations developing Extended Company Risk Assessments (ECRA) in accordance with FSC-STD-40-005 V3-1 Requirements for Sourcing FSC Controlled Wood or in accordance with the FSC Regulatory Modules
Publication of the FSC Risk Assessment for Canada is expected by February of 2026.
If there are any questions or comments on the content of the Advice Note or on the process, please contact the Country Requirements team country_requirements@fsc.org