In October 2022 a coalition of organizations including SAVE Rivers, GCRAC (Gerenai Community Rights Action Committee), KERUAN Organisation, The Borneo Project, and Bruno Manser Fund submitted a complaint to FSC against Samling Global Limited. The allegations made by the complainants include the following alleged unacceptable activities according to FSC´s Policy for Association (FSC-POL-01-004-V2-0, Part I, 1a-1d):
The alleged activities have mainly occurred between 2017 and 2022 in Sarawak (including the Upper Baram Forest Area, amongst others), Malaysia.
The allegations have been made against non-certified entities of Samling Global Limited that are connected to two entities that were FSC chain of custody certificate holders, thereby being a part of the Samling group. Due to the chain of custody certificate holders' indirect involvement in the alleged unacceptable activities defined in FSC’s Policy for Association, FSC has decided to accept the complaint and open a Policy for Association case against Samling Global Limited.
The alleged unacceptable activities occurred in Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC/MTCS) certified forests. The group of NGOs who submitted the Policy for Association complaint against Samling to FSC had also submitted a complaint to PEFC/MTCS.
The Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) has informed FSC that it has concluded its complaint investigation process and now considers the complaint to be closed. The PEFC/MTCS certificates are still valid as of the time when this update was published. Further information can be obtained by contacting MTCC or PEFC International.
The case will be managed according to the Procedure for Processing FSC Policy for Association Complaints (FSC-PRO-01-009 V4-0).
A summary of steps taken and outcomes in the case to date.
FSC accepts the complaint against Samling Global Limited after ensuring that the two chain of custody certificate holders named in the complaint were indirectly involved in the alleged unacceptable activities.
Coalition of organizations including SAVE Rivers, GCRAC (Gerenai Community Rights Action Committee), KERUAN Organisation, The Borneo Project, and Bruno Manser Fund file complaint against Samling Global Limited with FSC.