Chain of Custody Program

Within the Policy and Standards Unit, the Chain of Custody Program develops and maintains FSC policies and standards for companies that manufacture, process or trade in timber and non-timber forest products from certified and responsible forest sources.

As part of the management of these standards, the CoC Program publishes additional FSC Standard Interpretations, aiming to ensure consistent application of the FSC policies and standards.

The Chain of Custody Program can be divided into the following sub-areas:

Chain of Custody Standards
One of the key activities of the CoC Program is the regular review and maintenance of the Chain of Custody standard (FSC-STD-40-004), the main standard for manufacturers and traders of forest products.

The CoC program also provides a set of complementary standards that may be combined with FSC-STD-40-004 according to the scope of the organizations seeking certification, including:

• Controlled Wood
  The CoC Program develops and maintains Controlled Wood standards to enable manufacturers and traders avoid unacceptable timber and timber products.
• Reclaimed Material
  The CoC Program provides the requirements for the purchasing, verification and classification of reclaimed forest-based materials for its use in FSC certified products and projects. 
• Group and Multi-site Certification
  The CoC Program provides the requirements for the certification of large and small enterprises that want to include more than a single site under the same certificate scope.

FSC Claims Platform
The FSC Claims Platform is a project for the development of a system for the online control of the FSC certified products throughout the FSC supply chain.

Project Certification
The FSC Project Certification standard provides the requirements for the FSC certification of one-off production, construction or renovation of a single object or building of any size or scale, that use FSC certified wood and/ or post-consumer reclaimed wood material/ products.