Revision of FSC Chain of Custody Standards
FSC is revising the chain of custody standards (and associated procedures), as a joint revision process including FSC-STD-40-004 Chain of Custody Certification, FSC-STD-40-003 Chain of Custody Certification of Multiple Sites, FSC-PRO-40-003 Development of National Group Chain of Custody Eligibility Criteria, FSC-STD-40-007 Sourcing reclaimed material for use in FSC Product Groups or FSC Certified Projects and FSC-STD-20-011 Chain of Custody Evaluations.
Conducting a joint revision of these normative documents helps streamline Chain of Custody requirements and would result in a one-off transition for the certificate holders and certification bodies.
Stay tuned!
Terms of Reference and Working Group Structure
Key Revision Objectives:
Working group structure:
Overview of the conceptual phase consultation topics and results
The consultation on the conceptual phase was open from16 August 2024 until 15 October 2024. Topics included:
Overview of the conceptual phase consultation results:
Key Intended Outcomes of Chain of Custody Revision
Enhanced Risk-based Approaches
Proposals to consider various dimensions of risk such as activity, product type, geographical locations and species.
Addressed challenges of SMEs
Revised requirements address identified challenges for SMEs for maintenance and implementation of CoC requirements.
Streamlined Chain of Custody Requirements
Requirements are concise, relevant and implementable by all stakeholders.
Chain of Custody Requirements Aligned
Requirements align with other FSC requirements and with existing relevant legislations to support system integrity and maintain value of certification for stakeholders.
Detailed Updates on the Revision
For details on the revision process, signing up for the interested stakeholders and the revision timeline, please visit the process page here: