FSC SOLUTIONS
FSC has two main solutions for companies wanting to sell and promote FSC certified products: FSC Chain of custody certification and FSC Promotional license. Which solution is relevant for you depends on your individual setup. In the following we explain the steps of obtaining either of the two approvals under FSC. If you are in doubt about which solution is the best fit for you, we’ve created a quiz that will help you find the right answer.
Chain of Custody Certification standard
This is the core standard for FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification. It specifies the requirements which apply to all CoC-certified and applicant organizations with respect to sourcing, processing, labelling, and sale of forest-based products as FSC certified.
The FSC CoC certification process step by step
Step 01
A certification body is an impartial organization that performs certifications. The certification body will inform you of the standard your business must meet and provide you with a price and time frame estimate.
Find a list of certification bodies and an advisor to support you in your certification process on your local FSC office website
Contact a certification body (or group administrator)
FSC always recommends that you obtain several quotes for FSC certification. The certification body will ask you to complete an application on which they will base their quote.
Is your business a small or medium-sized company with fewer than 15 full-time equivalents?
If your business is smaller and has fewer than 15 full-time employees, you might be eligible for FSC CoC group certification instead. Under group certification, an external advisor will function as a group administrator and will help you manage the certificate. This is designed to lift the burden of administration as well as lower costs. Generally, this option is reserved for businesses with fewer than 15 full-time employees and/or a yearly turnover of less than USD 1 million.
The group administrator, like the certification body, will inform you of price, standards, and time frame.
Find out more about group certification
Step 02
Select a certification body or group administrator and plan your certification process internally
After a thorough assessment of the quotes, where you have familiarized yourself with the terms and the requirements you have to meet, you select a certification body or a group administrator, and a contract is signed.
In this phase, you usually also agree a time frame for the first main evaluation (assessment) of whether your business meets certification requirements. FSC recommends that you then create a project plan for the certification process and set out persons responsible, tasks, and deadlines.
Step 03
Prepare and implement a certification procedure
Based on the current FSC CoC standard and other applicable FSC standards, your business has to draw up a written procedure that describes the way in which your business complies with FSC’s CoC requirements. This procedure must then be rolled out through training of employees, adjustment of existing workflows and systems, if applicable, as well as other measures.
The certification body is not permitted to participate in designing this procedure, whereas a group administrator may help a business with this as stage of group certification.
Help with developing procedures is available from an advisor. Many local FSC offices also offer free templates for e.g. procedure, forms, and annexes as well as other practical help for certification in your local language. Please visit their websites
Step 04
External evaluation (assessment)
The certification body/group administrator visits your company and conducts an evaluation to assess whether your business meets FSC’s CoC requirements based on a review of procedures, processes, and interviews with applicable employees.
Step 05
Evaluation report
The certification body/group administrator prepares a report based on the evaluation. It is then decided whether your company can be FSC certified. The certification report may highlight minor or major non conformity that must be addressed within a certain time frame before a certificate can be issued/retained.
Step 06
Certification
When any major non conformities have been addressed, your business receives the FSC certificate. In some cases, an additional evaluation/check may be required if your business does not adequately meet certification requirements.
Step 07
Annual audit
The certification body or the group administrator conducts an annual audit of your business to check that you continue to meet FSC’s traceability requirements. An FSC certification is valid for five years. After an annual audit in the period between Years 2 and 5, your business must be certified again (main evaluation).
Step 08
Unlock the potential of your FSC certificate
An FSC certification is not just a certificate to hang on the wall. With FSC, your business has a tool to create value in your various departments and inspire other sustainability work across your business. For your CSR and environment department, FSC certification gives you documentation and content for your CSR report and constitutes a major contribution to the UN’s Global Goals.
For your communication and marketing department, FSC’s well-known logo and other trademarks can be used to communicate products made from responsibly sourced wood.
For your sales department, FSC gives you additional selling points, the opportunity to access new markets and meet customer demands for responsibly sourced products.
For your purchasing department, FSC gives you documentation for the use of responsibly sourced forest-based fibres. And so on.
Find out more about activating your FSC certification here.
FSC Promotional Licence
With an FSC Promotional Licence, your business is able to use FSC’s trademarks (e.g. the FSC logo) for marketing FSC-labelled products and communication about the use of labelled products, such as packaging.
Putting the FSC label on clothes allows us to show our commitment, to be transparent, but also to invite our customers to question themselves and to turn to more responsible purchasing.”
ELLEORE BOMSTEIN
CSR MANAGER, SÉZANE
A Promotional Licence is typically issued to a shop, a brand, or a web shop.
If you have questions or need clarification as to whether your organization meets the conditions for an FSC Promotional Licence, you are always welcome to contact us or take this quiz
Can my business get a licence?
If your business sells finished FSC-certified products labelled with FSC’s on-product label and/or uses FSC-labelled products, you will be able to obtain an FSC Promotional Licence.
It is a requirement
that your products are purchased directly* from an FSC-certified supplier who invoices the products as FSC to your business (the invoice must state that an FSC claim is directly connected to the product)
that your business does not modify the FSC-certified products (labels, manufactures, repackages etc.), as this requires FSC CoC certification
that the products are visibly marked with an FSC on-product label
Your business/organization can also obtain a licence if you work in education, research, investment, or training in FSC/consultancy work.
* Exceptions to buying directly from FSC suppliers may include purchasing private label products or buying from suppliers who simply fill non-wood-based products in FSC-labelled packaging without changing the packaging. Please contact your local FSC office for an assessment of your supply chain.
Obtaining a Promotional Licence
Your business is only a few steps away from being able to promote FSC-labelled products with the FSC logo. Simply contact your local FSC office and ask for an application form, which you must complete and return. Licensees pay an annual licence fee. The price depends on the structure of your business and its needs for FSC marketing.
Step 01
Application
When we have received the application form with information about your business and your requirements for FSC marketing, we will calculate a price and send it to you.
Step 02
Registration
Once you have accepted the price, you will receive a registration form to fill in and return. By doing so, you commit to complying with FSC trademark rules and agree to submitting materials detailing where FSC’s trademarks are to be used for approval before publication. The marketing materials should be accompanied by purchase documentation such as copies of invoices (all sensitive information may be blurred). The documentation is used for verification of certification status and constitutes our compliance check that only products which are, in fact, FSC certified are promoted as such.
Step 03
Licence creation
Based on the registration form and the submitted documentation, we set up your licence in our international licence database, where you will appear as a Licence Holder accompanied by basic information about your business.
Step 04
Guidance and access to FSC labels
Once your licence has been set up, you will receive instructions on how to use FSC's trademarks as well as information on the requirements you must comply with both in terms of graphics and trademark use. You will also be granted access to an online portal where you will be able to download marketing labels and other materials that can be freely used in your communication and marketing.
