Chain of Custody (CoC) is the path taken by raw materials, processed materials and products, from the forest to the consumer, including all successive stages of processing, transformation, manufacturing and distribution.

The main objective of FSC CoC certification is to ensure that FSC certified material is tracked through the supply chain between operations and production processes within operations. Only FSC CoC certified operations are allowed to label products with the FSC trademarks.

A certified Chain of Custody up to the final point of sale enables end customers to identify and choose FSC certified products knowing there is a system in place to verify the sources of the wood used to manufacture the products. The FSC label thus provides the link between responsible production and consumption.

FSC CoC certified operations have to specify the range of products which they want to promote with the FSC trademarks. The auditor basically checks that the operation has a control system in place to identify eligible sources for this product range and to prevent FSC-certified or reclaimed material from getting mixed with material illegally harvested, material from forests where there is social conflict, from uncertified high conservation value forests or from forests where genetically modified organisms are used.

FSC CoC certification assists your business with improved market access in an increasingly environmentally aware sector. It demonstrates that you take the environmental concerns of your customers and staff seriously. Furthermore, CoC certification can be used to demonstrate compliance with public or private procurement policies and specifications such as the EU Ecolabel scheme for furniture, or the U.S. Green Building Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

Companies which need FSC CoC certification
Any operation making, changing, trading, re-labelling or repackaging FSC-certified products needs to be CoC certified in order to use the FSC trademarks and to enable its customers to make an FSC claim about these products.

Brokers or agents, who neither take physical nor legal possession of the products, and retailers, who sell FSC products to end consumers that do not want to make an FSC claim, usually do not need to become certified.

Options to apply for Chain of Custody certification
Small enterprises may form or join a group of operations and apply for Group Chain of Custody certification. Group CoC certification has been specifically designed to make CoC certification accessible to small operations, for which individual CoC certification may prove too costly.

Larger companies operating at multiple locations may choose to apply for Multi-site Chain of Custody certification, as opposed to seeking a separate certificate for each site.

Both, group and multi-site CoC certification, allows certification bodies to evaluate participating operations or sites based on samples in recognition of existing common, centrally administered and monitored control and reporting systems and thereby reduce the auditing costs.

Costs of CoC certification
The costs and timescale for CoC certification vary depending on the size and complexity of the operation and range of included products and/or processes. Interested operations should turn to an FSC-accredited certification body in order to obtain a specific cost estimate.

For additional information on how to become an FSC certified enterprise, contact one of FSC's accredited certification bodies.

The list contains the contact details for the main offices and does not list local offices. Please contact the certification body directly for information on certification in your country.

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