DIN and ABNT react against the FSC&PEFC rejection of the new ISO CoC

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Recently, FSC and PEFC called upon the members of ISO to not support a proposal for an ISO standard to be developed for certified forest products as it stands. The proposal was launched by DIN (German Institute for Standardization) and ABNT (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas) with the purpose of elaborating a new uniform global standard chain of custody that will reduce current costs for multiple certifications.

In a joint letter addressed to FSC Director Kim Carstensen and PEFC Secretary General Ben Gunnenberg, Ernst-Peter Ziethen (Board Member DIN) and Eugenio De Simone (Technical Director ABNT), express their dissappointment towards the official statements of the two organizations and their opposition towards the new ISO CoC.

The two authors of the letter point out that, in contrast to the opinion of the FSC and PEFC, remains the need for a unified standard. The demand for such a standard was manifested by the timber industry and was perceived as urgent in preliminary feasibility studies conducted by the initiators.

The primary aim of the CoC ISO proposal was the creation of unified requirements based on best practice. This will be of great benefit for all users worldwide, say the authors of the letter. On one hand there would be clarity regarding requirements, and on the other hand the need for double certification- which is expensive and time-consuming- would be avoided. Currently around 20% of the CoC certificate holders are both FSC and PEFC certified. This adds approximately USD 25 million in auditing costs and over USD 50 million in internal controlling process annually. Over the cause of the next decade, this will add over 3/4 Billion USD of costs. From the industry perspective the authors consider this as a nuisance for certification holders and not serving the purpose of sustainable managed forests. This could be overcome by just one standard.

Even against the backdrop of increasing wood origin provisions in international timber trade (EUTR, Lacey Act and Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Act), one sees urgent need for a unified chain of custody standard.

Ziethen and De Simone invite the FSC and PEFC to incorporate their practical experience into the development of the process of standardization. The two authors want to emphasize that they don't want to compete with the FSC and PEFC, because the aim is to create a unified, practicable, consensus-based standard.

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alfonso
alfonso

I think it is better left in private hands rather then a government takeover. I personally think that FSC is a racket established by rich Berkeley grads as a way to never have to work or do anything useful in their lives. They have taken a dislike for Weyerhaeuser & GP and turned it into a tax on the poor in the Amazon and other rain forest countries.