BRE Global has reminded BREEAM assessors, specifiers and users that FSC Controlled Wood is not accepted as FSC certification on its own.
The organisation clarified that Controlled Wood is a system developed for the trade to ensure that the non-certified portion in products labelled as “Mixed Sources” do not come from unwanted sources.
“Therefore, on its own, products that are classed as FSC Controlled Wood do not meet BREEAM’s definition of responsibly sourced.”
It said to achieve responsible sourcing points in BREEAM for a building element and contribute toward achieving BREEAM credits, 80% of all materials that make up an element must be certified in accordance with one of the recognised responsible sourcing schemes.
Products carrying the FSC Mixed Sources label have to demonstrate to FSC that the proportion of FSC-certified and recycled material used in their production is at least 70%.
Products used in a building element that carries this label are deemed to comply with BREEAM – 100% of the product is responsibly sourced and 100% contributes toward meeting BREEAM requirements that at least 80% of an element is responsibly sourced.
“In such cases, 100% of the product falls within the relevant tier level in the responsible sourcing calculations, not 70%,” said BRE Global.
