The international hardwood lumber and veneer producer and trader has effectively had its FSC certification across its business suspended, so it can no longer supply FSC timber.

Ken Walsh, Danzer UK managing director, thought that, for “logistical reasons” it would be at around a year before Danzer secured FSC reapproval. In the meantime, the FSC is allowing Danzer to invoice existing FSC orders up to 21 August, with delivery by 21 November.

“We accept the right of the FSC to impose this sanction, but are hugely disappointed by the decision,” said Mr Walsh.

“Danzer has been in the forefront of sustainable forest management, working with local communities in the Congo Basin region for over 40 years, and in more recent times with FSC certification. Whilst the incidents in DRC are unacceptable and to be avoided at all costs in the future, our conflict resolution procedures have generally stood the test of time, including during civil war.”

He said that the DRC was one of the more unstable countries in the world and that Danzer had not experienced any similar problems in neighbouring Congo Brazzaville, where subsidiary Industrie Forestiere de Ouesso (IFO) operates a 1million ha FSC-certified concession.

The latter is also hit by the FSC disassociation. Mr Walsh stressed that Danzer’s timber from the DRC and Congo Brazzaville still satisfied EU Timber Regulation criteria as it was also covered by the SGS Timber Legality and Traceability Verification Programme (TLTV).

And he said, that while continuing to develop PEFC-certified sources, it would also continue to audit operations to FSC standards.

“This is partly because we want re-association as soon as possible, but also to reassure customers on our environmental commitment. We are also talking with a peace research organisation in Switzerland to undertake an inquiry into the DRC situation and to evaluate our conflict resolution systems.”

FSC’s action followed claims from Greenpeace that the Danzer subsidiary SIFORCO, since sold to Groupe Blattner Elwyn, had not met all of its ‘conflict avoidance and resolution’ obligations under FSC rules.

Consequently, in 2011 there had been a number of clashes between people in the community of Yaliskia in the forest concession area and the DRC authorities.

Shortly afterwards, an SGS report found no evidence that SIFORCO were responsible for these events. But an independent Complaints Panel was subsequently convened by the FSC to investigate, leading to the disassociation.