Chain of Custody
PEFC Chain of Custody
Chain of custody is the mechanism to track wood from certified forests and from uncertified and/or recycled sources, through each stage in the production chain to the end user (buyer).
A forest management certificate allows an organization to make a claim about a certified forest; a chain-of-custody certificate demonstrates that a system is in place for tracking certified and uncertified and/or recycled wood, it does not mean that a facility is producing certified content at all times. A customer who needs assurance that a specific product is certified should ask the supplier who provides the chain-of-custody certificate about the amount of certified content in the product.
A Chain of custody:
- Tracks wood flows at any stage of production – through harvesting, transporting, handling or processing – from the forest through to the final customer;
- Has minimum management system requirements including documentation;
- Identifies the origin of certified content through appropriate documentation;
- Has the ability to track certified content, uncertified content and recycled content in the fiber supply;
- Requires risk assessment for uncertified content to avoid illegal logging; and
- Requires independent third-party audits by an accredited certification body.
The PEFC Annex 4 Chain-of-Custody Standard is available to any certification program endorsed by the PEFC and organizations with a PEFC chain-of-custody certification can make a PEFC claim and access the PEFC labels.
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