In a time of many changes, Woodmark has been working to ensure that we continue to provide certification solutions for all. Early messages that "certification is not a green lane" for EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) compliance were a cause of alarm, not only among European certified companies, but also among their suppliers in other parts of the world, who had gone to the trouble of gaining FSC or PEFC certification only to be told that there were other and as yet unknown things that would be demanded of them. Giving reassurance was a priority and so we have responded to many questions from our global network as companies looked at whether, and how, they would be affected by the EUTR. We have now created an FAQ guide, which is on our website.

Earlier this month we held our annual training event for our associates and auditors from the UK and beyond, and all have gone home ready to audit to updated standards. As well as offering internal talks and workshops, we invited guest speakers from FSC, CPET and the FSC Online Claims Platform (OCP) provider, Historic Futures.

We now offer the option of including Verification of Legal Compliance (VLC) products in regular chain of custody (CoC) audits. We see increasing demand for this, as companies working on projects in collaboration with WWF or The Forest Trust (TFT) need to pass on claims. So we were delighted when our own forest legality standard – Woodmark FVLC – and its corresponding CoC aspect were judged to be fully credible and compliant by Proforest’s report for the European Timber Trade Federation. FVLC is designed to cover forest-related legislation and to be adapted to different countries, as well as to align with the revised FSC Principle 1 and with the proposed FSC MAP (Modular Approach Programme).

Due diligence system

Woodmark has also developed a comprehensive due diligence system (DDS), which awaits approval from the EU. In the meantime, we are trialling the system with potential users. Getting information passed along supply chains, which may be complex, is going to need a big culture change towards transparency but some companies, including Hawthorn Timber Ltd, are embracing this.

"Over the last 10 years we have worked closely with Woodmark, gaining both FSC and PEFC chain of custody on the way," said Laura Lipinski, of Hawthorn Timber. "They provide regular communication updates for the continual changes to the standards, which now incorporate EUTR requirements such as records of species needed for the DDS. As Woodmark ‘guinea pigs’ we look forward to demonstrating our compliance procedures and role as both ‘operator’ and ‘trader’ during our forthcoming audit in August."

Meanwhile, of course, changes to PEFC and FSC standards have to be applied consistently worldwide, whether or not a company is subject to the EUTR, Lacey Act or Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Act. This means that all the new requirements need adding to the audit checklists.

Jonathan Taylor, chain of custody manager at Hymor Timber Ltd, said its suppliers (as operators) had been proactive in reassuring their UK customers they were meeting EUTR compliance and had sent details of the DDS they were implementing very soon after the deadline date. Hymor Timber, in turn, is very happy to provide this product information to any of its own customers, said Mr Taylor.

We envisage many a raised eyebrow from importers of fibreboard and paper products as, for the first time, they are asked to consider the timber species used in their manufacture. The new PEFC standard includes a built-in DDS, which can also be applied to uncertified products, and it will be interesting to see if this proves popular.

Woodmark’s Dr Penny Bienz has led on engaging closely with the development of the FSC’s OCP and is trying to determine what the practical realities of implementing this system will be, not only for the companies themselves, but in terms of auditor time and client management by Woodmark.

We have communicated news of the OCP to our clients, associates and auditors alike, and encouraged them to engage and feed back into the OCP development. However, at this point it is considered that with 26,246 CoC certificates in over 113 countries that a more comprehensive level of stakeholder engagement is undertaken, and that a significant number of companies from different countries, industry sectors and technical ability must be able to ‘test-run’ the system. Ideally, complete chains from forest to consumer would have been engaged.