February 2012

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PEFC Chain of Custody Certification

History of PEFC

Pan European Forest Certification Council Created in 1999 by European forest land owners as an umbrella

organisation to provide a framework for the mutual recognition of credible national forest certification standards

11 founding European nation members

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Canada the first non-European nation to join in 2001 Name changed in 2003 to recognize growth beyond Europe Not a forest management certification standard but an

endorsement of national standards that meet the PEFC Sustainability Benchmarks

Exception is the PEFC Chain of Custody standard

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35 member countries - 30 with endorsed standards

Argentina Canada Gabon Malaysia Slovenia

Australia Chile Germany Netherlands Spain

Austria Czech Rep. Ireland Norway Sweden

Belarus Denmark Italy Poland Switzerland

Belgium Estonia Latvia Portugal UK

Brazil Finland Lithuania Russia USA

Cameroon France Luxembourg Slovakia Uruguay

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PEFC Canada

Canada a member of PEFC International since 2001 and represented by CSA International until 2009

PEFC Canada is a not-for-profit legal entity formed in 2008

Became the member of PEFC International for Canada in January 2009

Represents interests of organizations certified to the CSA Sustainable Forest Management standards

Manages PEFC Chain of Custody program for Canadian companies (except for SFI participants)

Issues PEFC logo use licences to qualified organizations in Canada

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PEFC Presence: Globally→Canada→Ontario

35 member countries

32 endorsed national standards in 30 countries - 2 each in Canada and USA

238 million ha certified globally in 27 countries• 63 million ha certified to CSA SFM standards in Canada

– 2.4 million ha in Ontario• 53 million ha certified to Sustainable Forestry Initiative in Canada

– 12.8 million in Ontario

8,690 Chain of Custody certificate holders• 184 in Canada

– 38 in Ontario

36,000 PEFC logo use licence holders• 79 in Canada

– 24 in Ontario

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PEFC Chain of Custody Documents

PEFC ST 2002:2010 Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products - Requirements

PEFC GD 2001:2011 Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products - Guidance for Use

PEFC ST 2001:2008 PEFC Logo Usage Rules - Requirements

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Certified Material Accepted in PEFC COC

Material from forests 3rd party certified to following standards:

CAN/CSA-Z809 Sustainable Forest Management

CAN/CSA-Z804 SFM for Woodlots and Other Small Area Forests

Sustainable Forestry Initiative

American Tree Farm System

any of the other 28 national forest certification standards endorsed by PEFC

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What to do to get certified – PEFC COC Details

Scope COC Requirements – Physical Separation COC Requirements – Percentage Based Methods

• Average Percentage Method• Volume Credit Method

Sale of Certified Products Controversial Sources – Non-certified raw material Management System Requirements Complaints Subcontracting Multisite Organization Chain of Custody Social, Health and Safety Requirements

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Scope

PEFC Chain of Custody applies to forest based products

Can be used by any organization harvesting, transporting, handling or processing forest based material at any stage from forest to final consumer

Chain of custody is used in connection with the definition of certified material in PEFC endorsed forest certification standards

Labelling of products is an optional communication tool which may be incorporated into the chain of custody process

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Scope

PEFC Standard Definitions

Chain of custody of forest based products - Process of handling of information on the origin of forest based products which allows the organisation to make accurate and verifiable claims on the content of certified material

Certified material - Raw material whose origin is covered by the chain of custody claims

Certified product - Product which is claimed as including certified material whose content is verified by chain of custody

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Physical Separation

Organisations should use physical separation as the preferred option:• where certified material is not mixed with uncertified material, or,• where certified material can be identified during the whole

process

Physical separation can be achieved by:• physical separation in terms of production and storage space, or,• physical separation in terms of time, or,• clear identification of the certified material during the process

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Percentage Based Methods

Percentage based method of chain of custody applies to organisations that are mixing certified material with uncertified material

Calculation of certification percentage:

Where:• Pc = Certification percentage• Vc = Volume of certified material• Vo = Volume of other material

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Percentage Based Methods

Product Group

Certification percentage is calculated for a specific product group

The product group is associated with:

1. a single product type, or,

2. a group of products which consist of the same or similar input material, i.e. species, sort, etc.

Material used in the product group must have same unit of measurement or units that can be converted to the same unit of measurement

Product group must be produced at a single production site

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Percentage Based Methods

Certification percentage can be calculated as either:

1. simple percentage, or,

2. rolling percentage

For rolling percentage the claim period cannot exceed 3 months, i.e. the certification percentage claim is calculated from the average volume of raw material used during the previous 3 months

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Average Percentage Method

Organisations using the average percentage method (either simple or rolling percentage) apply the calculated certification percentage to all the products covered by the product group

There is no minimum threshold for the certified percentage

Example: If the certified percentage calculated for the 3 month claim period is 54 %, all products covered by the product group can be sold as 54 % PEFC Certified

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Volume Credit Method

The volume credit method is used to distribute the certified volume of raw material over a portion of output product

Example: If the raw material for 100 tonnes of output product is 54% certified, then the 100 tonnes can be sold as 54% certified using the average percentage method, or 54 of the 100 tonnes cold be sold as 100% certified using the volume credit method. No certification claim can be made on the remaining 56 tonnes of product

The volume credit can also be distributed to the product at less than 100% certified

Example: The organisation can decide to distribute the 54 tonnes of volume credits to sell product as 70% certified, where 54tonnes / 70% = 77 tonnes available for sale as 70% certified

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Volume Credit Method

The organisation using volume credit must create and manage a credit account in a single measurement unit

The credit account must be established for individual product types of the product group or for the whole product group where the same measurement unit is applied to all product types

Certified credits can be accumulated in the credit account for a maximum of 12 months, meaning that if the total credits are not used in a 12 month period then the credits accumulated 13 months ago are lost

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Sale of Certified Products

At any point of transfer or sale of certified products the organisation must provide:• a copy of a forest management or chain of custody certificate, or, • another document confirming the supplier’s certified status, or,• access to a copy of the chain of custody certificate, i.e. on a

website

The organisation must use a single type of document with each delivery of the certified products, i.e. invoice or delivery slip

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Sale of Certified Products

The document accompanying each delivery of certified products must include the following information:• customer identification

• supplier identification

• product identification

• quantity of delivery for each product

• date of delivery / delivery period / accounting period

• formal claim including certified percentage for each product

• the number of the supplier’s chain of custody certificate or other document confirming the supplier’s certified status

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Controversial Sources

PEFC Chain if Custody requires avoiding raw material from controversial sources, defined as forest management which is:

(a) not complying with local, national or international legislation, in particular related to the following areas: – forestry operations and harvesting, including conversion of forest to

other use – management of areas with designated high environmental and cultural

values, – protected and endangered species, including requirements of CITES, – health and labour issues relating to forest workers, – indigenous peoples’ property, tenure and use rights, – payment of taxes and royalties,

(b) utilising genetically modified organisms,

(c) converting forest to other vegetation type, including conversion of primary forests to forest plantations.

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Controversial Sources

The organization must have a Due Diligence System (DDS) to avoid raw material from controversial sources

Three steps to implementing a DDS:

1. supplier’s self declaration that material supplied does not originate from a controversial source

2. risk assessment indicating either a “low” or “high” risk of material coming from a controversial source

3. management and verification program for material coming from sources that have been assessed as “high risk”

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Management System Requirements

The organisation must have a management system to ensure correct implementation and maintenance of the chain of custody

At a minimum the management system must:• document the commitment to implement and maintain the

chain of custody• appoint a manager with overall responsibility and authority for

the chain of custody• establish documented procedures for all elements of chain of

custody• establish personnel responsibilities, authorities and

competencies• regularly review the chain of custody and its compliance• conduct internal audits at least annually

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Complaints

The organisation must establish procedures for dealing with chain of custody related complaints from suppliers, customers and other

Upon receipt of the complaint, the organisation must:• acknowledge the complaint to the complainant• gather and verify all necessary information to evaluate and

validate the complaint and make decision on the complaint• formally communicate the decision on the complaint and of the

complaint handling process to the complainant• ensure that any appropriate corrective and preventive actions

are taken

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Subcontracting

Where subcontractors are used in the manufacture of certified products the subcontracted activities must be covered by the organisation’s chain of custody with the following considerations:

• applies to work within or outside the organisation’s site

• material received by the subcontractor must be physically separated from other material and returned after the subcontracted work is completed, or,

• the organisation with the chain of custody remains responsible for the sale or transfer of the product to the customer

• organisation shall take full responsibility for the all the subcontracted activities

• subcontractor activities must be covered by the internal audit

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Multisite Organization Chain of Custody

Chain of Custody can be implemented within a network of sites:• either multi-sites within a single organization/company, or,• a group of small independent companies

Multisite organizations must have an identified “central office” which:• represents the group in the certification process• provides a contractual relationship within the group and with the

certification body• provides a commitment and procedures to implement and maintain

the chain of custody system• operates an internal audit program

Individual sites are responsible for implementing the chain of custody requirements applicable to their specific site

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Social, Health and Safety Requirements

2.1 The organisation shall demonstrate its commitment to comply with the social, health and safety requirements defined in this standard.

2.2 The organisation shall demonstrate that:• workers are not prevented from associating freely, choosing

their representatives, and bargaining collectively with their employer,

• forced labour is not used,• workers, who are under the minimum legal age, the age of 15,

or the compulsory school attendance age, which ever is higher, are not used,

• workers are not denied equal employment opportunities and treatment,

• working conditions do not endanger safety or health.

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Certifying to the PEFC COC Standard

All PEFC Chain of Custody certifications must be carried out by a qualified independent 3rd party certification body

All certification bodies are accredited to ISO Guide 65 General Requirements for Bodies Operating Product Certification Systems by an International Accreditation Forum member such as Standards Council of Canada (SCC) or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

Audit cycle includes an initial certification audit, an annual surveillance audit and a recertification audit every 5 years

Certificates are valid for 5 years

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Who can certify - Qualified Certification Bodies

1. ALKO-Cert, Germany www.alko-cert.de

2. BMG Trada Certifiering, Sweden www.bmgtradacert.se

3. BM Trada Certification, United Kingdom www.bmtrada.com

4. Bureau de normalisation du Québec, Québec City www.bnq.qc.ca

5. Bureau Veritas, Houston www.certification.us.bureauveritas.com

6. Control Union Canada, North Vancouver www.controlunion.com

7. KPMG PRI, Vancouver www.kpmg.ca/performanceregistrar

8. PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vancouver www.pwc.com/sustainability

9. QMI-SAI Global, Toronto www.qmi.com

10. Scientific Certification Systems, Emeryville www.SCScertified.com

11. SGS Systems and Services Certification, Toronto www.ca.sgs.com

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PEFC Canada Chain of Custody Fees

PEFC Canada pays membership fees to PEFC International in part based on the number of PEFC COC certificates in Canada

PEFC Canada charges an annual notification fee based on the number sites included in the scope of the COC certificate

Fee collected by Certification Bodies on behalf of PEFC Canada

Number of Sites on COC Certificate

Annual Fee

1 $500

2 $1,000

3 – 10 $1,500

11 – 20 $2,000

21 – 30 $2,500

31 – 40 $3,000

41 + $3,500

PEFC Logo Use

On-product label Off-product label

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PEFC Logo Use

PEFC logo use requires a logo use licence issued by PEFC Canada on behalf of PEFC International

Logo use licences available for 4 groups of users:• Group A: National governing bodies i.e. PEFC Canada• Group B: Forest owners and managers with PEFC endorsed

forest certification, including individual and group certificates• Group C: Forest related industries with PEFC Chain of Custody• Group D: Organizations using the PEFC off-product label for

promotional and educational purposes

On-product of the label use requires minimum of 70% of PEFC certified product or recycled material

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PEFC Logo Use

Number of Sites on COC Certificate

Annual Fee

1 $250

2 $500

3 – 10 $750

11 – 20 $1,000

21 – 30 $1,250

31 – 40 $1,500

41 + $1,750

PEFC Canada charges an annual logo use fee based on the number of sites included in the scope of the chain of custody certificate

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For More Information

PEFC International at http://www.pefc.org/

PEFC Canada at http://www.pefccanada.org/

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