In April 2021, a German lower court found persons working for WOB Timber GmbH in breach of a European Union (EU) timber trade regulation and evading specific EU sanctions on Myanmar timber (no longer in force since May 2013) regarding imports between June 2008 and May 2011. WOB Timber has appealed the lower court ruling and denies any violation of EU sanctions or illegal trade in forest products.
The German Federal Supreme Court has suspended the appeal proceedings and referred the case to the Court of Justice of the EU for a preliminary ruling. FSC holds the view that the lower court ruling provides substantial information of a potential violation of the FSC Policy for Association of Organizations (FSC-POL-01-004 V2-0), policy element (a) illegal logging or the trade in illegal wood or forest products.
WOB Timber does not agree with FSC’s position.
FSC is applying the provisions of Policy for Association, version 2 in this case because the unacceptable activity took place prior to 1 January 2023.
In 2023, FSC processed the case according to the Direct Decision pathway. A decision panel of experts were constituted who reviewed the evidence and provided their recommendations. The FSC International Board of Directors accepted the decision panel’s recommendations to maintain conditional association with WOB Timber GmbH.
In 2025, WOB Timber GmbH fulfilled the conditions FSC set for maintaining association, which were audited by a third party organization. FSC confirmed that all the conditions were met and reinstated WOB Timber GmbH as an FSC-certified organization.
This Policy for Association case has been closed.
A summary of steps taken and outcomes in the case to date.
FSC has confirmed that WOB Timber GmbH successfully fulfilled all conditions set for maintaining its association with FSC, following a comprehensive legal compliance audit and implementation of the recommended corrective measures. The FSC International Board of Directors acknowledged the successful implementation of all recommended measures and confirmed WOB Timber’s status as a certificate holder in good standing. For more information, read the press release here.
FSC and WOB Timber signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which stipulates the conditions that WOB Timber shall fulfil within 12 months for maintaining association with FSC. For more information, read the press release here.
The decision panel recommended FSC to maintain association with conditions with WOB Timber GmbH, which was approved by the FSC International Board of Directors.
FSC International proactively launched a Policy for Association (PfA) case against WOB Timber GmbH. This case will be managed using the Direct Decision process. The decision panel of relevant experts has been constituted.