FSC and PEFC forest certification (chain of custody)
Two global schemes that certify sustainable forest management (FM) and the unbroken tracking of certified wood through the supply chain (chain of custody, CoC). Buyers of timber, plywood, pulp, paper, board and wooden packaging should see the claim – “FSC 100 %”, “FSC Mix” or “PEFC certified” – and the seller’s valid CoC code (e.g. FSC-C123456) on the invoice; the code can be checked in the FSC and PEFC databases. Certification alone is not sufficient for EUDR compliance but supports plot-level traceability data.
Related terms
EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)
Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 requires that soy, palm oil, cocoa, coffee, cattle, rubber and wood – and products made from them such as leather, chocolate, furniture, paper and tyres – placed on the EU market were not produced on land deforested after 31 December 2020 and comply with the producing country’s laws. The operator submits a due-diligence statement including the geolocation of the production plots, and countries are classed as low, standard or high risk. For suppliers selling these commodities into the EU, plot-level traceability is now a commercial precondition.
Traceability (supply-chain transparency)
The ability to document, at every stage from source – mine, farm, forest or refinery – to end user, who processed a raw material, where, and from which lot. It is becoming mandatory in raw material trade because of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), OECD guidance on conflict minerals and recycled-content claims such as ISCC or GRS. Geolocation data, mass balance and digital product passports are key concepts here.