EUDR: FSC and PEFC certifications present their alignment solutions
EUDR: FSC and PEFC certifications present their alignment solutions
05.07.2024
The FSC and PEFC certifications have organised webinars presenting the state of progress of their tools and solutions that will enable certified companies to comply with the EUDR.
FSC and PEFC certifications are robust systems that are already strongly aligned with the legality and sustainability requirements of the EUDR and can help companies assess and minimise the risk of forest products coming from deforested, degraded or illegally logged land. Since the discussions and adoption of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), these certifications have been developing solutions to align themselves fully with the EUDR requirements.
PEFC: on the path to EUDR alignment
To align its system with the EUDR, PEFC has set up working groups on Sustainable Forest Management and on Chain of Custody, as well as a Task Force on data. On 26 June, PEFC organised a webinar to present the state of progress of its work to align its system with the EUDR (replay and presentation available), and in particular :
Update of the PEFC sustainable forest management standard: PEFC has adapted its generic forest management standard (ST 1003) to the definitions and provisions of the EUDR to ensure that its system is compatible with this regulation. The PEFC SFM working group has modified several requirements to ensure that PEFC-certified raw material from certified forests complies with the EUDR. These changes cover the EUDR forest categorisation structure, geolocation information, and address forest degradation. In addition, the PEFC cut-off date is already in line with the requirements of the EUDR. The proposed changes are presented in this webinar (the amended standard is available here), and are out for consultation until 13 July.
PEFC EUDR DDS module: this module is designed to help PEFC-certified organisations comply with the requirements of the EUDR Regulation. It integrates with existing PEFC Chain of Custody processes, offering companies the choice of using the due diligence system of the ST 2002 Chain of Custody standard or replacing it with the PEFC EUDR DDS module. This module aims to simplify and standardise the collection and verification of data required to demonstrate compliance with the EUDR. This module was the subject of a consultation in May 2024. To find out more, follow the PEFC EUDR DDS presentation webinar.
Data and EUDR: PEFC and LiveEO have announced a partnership to help certified organisations comply with EUDR. Companies can use the TradeAware platform, tailored to PEFC requirements, to easily integrate the necessary data, reduce the risk of non-compliance and share information efficiently.
The PECF tools for the EUDR will be published in the 4ème quarter of 2024.
On 1er July, FSC published its EUDR toolkit, including the FSC Regulatory Module, an update of the FSC Risk Assessment Framework, and various Advice Notes.
A webinar was held on 3 July to present the various tools that will enable certified organisations to comply with the EUDR and carry out their due diligence:
FSC regulatory module: this is a complementary, voluntary standard that adds to the existing FSC certification requirements for forest management, chain of custody, project certification, controlled wood and accreditation. The objective of due diligence for FSC regulatory module products is to demonstrate that forest products are free from deforestation, that they have been produced in accordance with the legislation in force in the country of production and that they are covered by a due diligence declaration.
Risk assessment framework: The FSC regulatory module requires risk assessment and mitigation to be carried out using the FSC risk assessment framework. Users of the FSC regulatory module can use the simplified FSC risk assessment template. This template is also available for companies that source only from FSC-certified forests, significantly reducing the additional work required to carry out due diligence. Users of the regulatory module who do not source from FSC-certified forests should use the full FSC risk assessment template.
TRACES solution (ex-blockchain, see the presentation webinar here): FSC Trace is an initiative using blockchain technology to improve the transparency and compliance of sustainable forest certifications. It enables each stage of the supply chain to be documented and verified, guaranteeing the integrity of FSC certifications. Combined with the FSC regulatory module, this solution will enable certified companies to comply with the EUDR (and other regulations) by verifying the certification status of suppliers during transactions, generating verified and traceable declarations on traded products, and transmitting data on the raw materials of FSC-certified products, such as geolocation, harvest period and species.
FSC Regulatory Module Tools are Now Effective. FSC will support certified companies in implementing these tools by December 2024 to comply with EUDR requirements.
How to get ready:
Start using the FSC Regulatory Module and the FSC Risk Assessment Framework now by visiting org/STARTEUDR.
Refer to this article for practical steps before implementing FSC solutions.
Download technical sheets from org/FSCtrace and prepare your product and business partner data before the technology launch in August.
Check the schedule of upcoming webinars and register on this page.
