FSC pushes forward on EU Timber Regulation alignment

FSC has issued special requirements for dealing with “non-conforming” products.This enhances the FSC system’s overall ability to exclude products that are not in line with the FSC requirements.

• Excluding non-certified and non-controlled minor components from FSC products in cases where they could cause legal non-compliance: As of 1 January 2013, FSC products containing minor components may no longer be placed on regulated markets such as the EU, the US and Australia, if the products are covered by the respective laws and regulations in place in the specific market.
• Ensuring access to information: FSC certified suppliers are required to provide their customers with information about timber species and the origin of the timber upon request, and to collaborate on identifying the information if it is not available.

View more details about these new requirements and related deadlines

FSC has also released a draft advice notes regarding the definition of legality used for the Controlled Wood and Forest Management certification system which aims to align the FSC system fully with the broad definition used by EU. 

FSC closer to full alignment with EU requirements

With these measures in place, is FSC now fully aligned with the EU Timber Regulation? Christian Sloth, Forest Legality Programme Manager at NEPCon, says: “FSC has taken all possible actions available to address the EU Timber Regulation in the short term”.

An important step which still needs to be taken is to provide assurance for the compliance with trade and customs laws applicable in the country of origin. This is currently not covered by any of the FSC rules. FSC is working to include this aspect.

“Aside from this, the FSC directive has temporarily sealed important gaps related to the EU Timber Regulation. Some of the measures may not constitute the most effective solutions, but the actions appear well suited until other, more robust systems are implemented”, comments Mr Sloth.

For example, the FSC system does not yet ensure that the country of origin is automatically known: the related advice note only requires certified operations to collaborate on providing the required information. However, once the Online Claims Platform is up and running, it should be possible to handle this in a more robust and efficient way.

Alignment with other legal frameworks

“Through the efforts to align with the EU Timber Regulation, FSC is also becoming well aligned with the US Lacey Act and the Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill which have many similarities to the EU regulation. However, the approach taken to minor components does not fully address the US Lacey Act”, says Mr Sloth.

While the EU Timber Regulation limits the prohibition on placing illegal timber on the market to “operators” first placing the products on the market (importers and forest operations located inside the EU), the similar prohibition contained in the US Lacey Act applies to all entities in the supply chain. But FSC only requires the “first placers” to exclude minor components from FSC products sold on regulated markets. 

Mr Sloth: “In order to show due care, US buyers may need to be cautious about buying FSC products including minor components until 2016 when they are finally phased out. However, from 1 January 2013 all FSC products containing minor non-certified components need to be accompanied by a clear claim. This allows US buyers to exclude those particular FSC products from their purchases”.

FSC generally on track

Despite a few minor shortcomings, Mr Sloth welcomes the actions taken by FSC to enhance the system’s assurance of legal origin and secure alignment with requirements that apply on regulated markets.

“With these changes, the FSC system has come considerably closer to full alignment with the EU Timber Regulation, which is of vital importance for the system’s continued market value and credibility. I hope FSC continues on this track”, concludes Mr Sloth.

Source:FSC International Center