FSC International has completed the revision of the controlled wood standard and made major steps forward in developing the Centralized National Risk Assessments (CNRA). At a local level, FSC Canada has been working on the development of its National Risk Assessment (NRA).
To understand how these processes will impact certificate holders in Canada, please see the updates below:
In November 2015, FSC approved the Requirements for Sourcing FSC Controlled Wood (FSC-STD-40-005 V3-0) and the revised standard comes into effect on July 01, 2016.
The approved standard outlines the requirements for FSC chain of custody certified organizations to avoid using material from the following five controlled wood categories:
- Category 1: Illegally harvested wood
- Category 2: Wood harvested in violation of traditional and human rights;
- Category 3: Wood from forests in which high conservation values are threatened;
- Category 4: Wood from forests being converted to plantations and non-forest use; and
- Category 5: Wood from forests in which genetically modified trees are planted.
Canadian certificate holders implementing this standard will be required to complete a ‘simplified risk assessment’, in accordance with Annex A of the revised standard. FSC is developing training materials designed to help stakeholders understand the new standard, including requirements for due diligence and simplified risk assessments. The first webinars are planned for February 10-11, 2016 and will cover the following:
- an introduction to the purpose and contents of the standard
- an explanation of the process of transition from the current to the revised version of the standard
- a question-and-answer session with the staff of the Controlled Wood Programme at FSC International
Specific details around the transition period to the revised standard will be discussed during the webinar provided by FSC International, but the following general rules apply:
- The effective date of the revised standard is July 01, 2016.
- This begins a one year transition period, during which the current version of the standard is phased out, and the revised version is phased in.
- Within the transition period, certificate holders can choose to be audited to V2-1 or V3-0, but shall be evaluated against V3-0 by the end of it (June 30, 2017).
- At the end of the transition period, V2-1 of the standard will be withdrawn. Six months later (December 31, 2017) certificates from V2-1 shall be withdrawn.
Requirements for the transition to revised FSC normative documents are contained in FSC-PRO-01-001 The Development and Revision of FSC Normative Documents.
FSC International recently approved FSC Canada’s National Risk Assessment (NRA) proposal and work is commencing now. FSC Canada’s NRA Working Group will utilize and build upon FSC’s Centralized National Risk Assessment (CNRA) for Canada, which is conducted by consultants hired by FSC International. To date, the assessments in the CNRA have been completed for controlled wood categories 1, 2, and 5 and can be downloaded here.
The category 4 assessment is being reviewed by FSC International and a Canadian consultant has been chosen to complete the category 3 assessment, with work expected to start within the next month.
The NRA Working Group is meant to ensure that proactive input is received from stakeholders with the ultimate goal of achieving consensus for each category. FSC Canada intends to have a 60-day public consultation in late 2016 and complete National Risk Assessment by December 31st, 2017. A detailed NRA work plan and timeline will follow soon.