Action Required

Certification Bodies must be accredited against the new version of the Chain of Custody standard (ST 2002:2020) before they can offer certification against the new versions of the Chain of Custody and Trademarks standards.  Once certification to the new standard is granted, the certified company will need to sign a new trademark usage contract prior to being given access to the new version of the Label Generator.  

Affected customers

Certification Bodies accredited in the MSAP program for sustainable forest management and CBAP customers accredited in the PEFC chain of custody program.

Background

In January 2020, the PEFC standards Chain of Custody (ST 2002), PEFC Trademarks (ST 2001) and Certification Body Requirements - Chain of Custody (ST 2003) were published, coming into force 2020-02-14.  Prior to gaining accreditation to the new standards, Certification Bodies must be trained in the new standards via a PEFC recognized training and align their procedures with the 2020 Certification Body Standard (ST 2003).  More information on this process is available here.

Certification Bodies must be accredited against the new version of the Chain of Custody standard (ST 2002:2020) before they can offer certification against the new versions of the Chain of Custody and Trademarks standards.  Once certification to the new standard is granted, the certified company will need to sign a new trademark usage contract prior to being given access to the new version of the Label Generator.   

PEFC International does not have trademarks training requirements for Certification Bodies providing Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) certification.  However, Certification Bodies may wish to incorporate national level training for SFM auditors to the 2020 PEFC Trademarks standard before they can audit the usage of trademarks.   

New requirements

Certification Body:
Certification Bodies are required to inform their client organizations what information they are obliged to provide to the PEFC Council and/or a PEFC National Governing Body.  The Certification Body should promote gender equality when selecting personnel to carry out key activities.  There are new competency requirements for both auditor and the certification decision maker.

There are new multi-site requirements for issuing certificates and sampling methodology.

Prior to recertification, at a minimum, only major nonconformities shall be corrected and corrective actions verified.

For complaints and appeals, two new requirements have been added (7.13.1 and 7.13.2).

Chain of Custody:
The standard now addresses trees outside forests (TOF).  The definition of controversial sources has been expanded and covers sustainability of production and harvest levels, biodiversity, ecologically important forest areas, workers rights and rights of indigenous people. 

The credit and percentage systems are now separate chain of custody methods.  There are new requirements to ensure that outsourced activities are covered by the certified company’s management system.  A new clause has been added regarding nonconformity and corrective action. 

Supplier requirements have been revised.

Appendix A: DDS has been revised in various areas.  Please read this section thoroughly.

Appendix B: Internal audit programme for multi-site now includes an option for remote auditing.

Trademarks:
The revised trademark standard incudes new sections regarding technical and graphic requirements.  Additionally, Group B (entities certified against a PEFC endorsed sustainable forest management standard) entities may only use the PEFC trademarks off-product, unless they also hold a PEFC Chain of Custody certificate.

Deadline

Chain of Custody audits to the 2013 version may be conducted until 2022-03-14, including initial, annual surveillance and recertification audits. After this date, all audits must be conducted against the 2020 versions.  By 2023-03-14, all companies must be certified against the 2020 version of the Chain of Custody standard.

For Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) entities currently using the PEFC trademarks, it is up to the PEFC member when they are moved to the 2020 requirements, as long as it is completed by the transition date.  These organizations will need to sign a new trademark usage contract prior to being granted access to the new Label Generator.

Questions?

Please contact Abdel Kassou, Manager, Compliance and Assessment Services, at abdel.kassou@scc.ca or +1 613 238 3222 ext. 443 for more information.