We are confronted with FSC statement control when we want to assemble a certified product consisting of several components with different FSC statements. We then have to assign one specific FSC final statement per FSC-certified product.
That is, if in the production process we assemble a cabinet that consists of, for example, particle board purchased with the FSC Mix Credit statement, FSC 100% wood dowels and FSC Recycled 100% cardboard, the question arises with which FSC statement the finished cabinet should be sold.
FSC claim control systems are used to manage FSC claims and to attribute a specific claim to an FSC end product. There are three types of FSC statement control systems: the transfer system, the percentage system and the credit system.
The transfer system is designed for companies that would like to assign an FSC statement of 100% to their products. It is also intended for trading companies and printers. The transfer system requires traceability of the raw materials used. Product traceability is achieved when we can link the sales invoice to the production register. The purpose of this is to prove that the product is sold with the correct FSC statement from the raw material purchase invoice.
The transfer system assumes that only FSC-certified raw materials, purchased from certified suppliers, are taken into certified production. For certified raw materials, the correctness of the purchase invoice is checked (by ensuring the presence of the FSC certificate number and the FSC statement on the invoice).
When raw materials purchased with one FSC statement are traded or taken into production, the company attributes this FSC statement to the final product. There is a transfer of the FSC statement from the raw material to the final product.
When raw materials purchased with different FSC claims are taken for certified production, the company applies the lowest FSC claim with which the raw material was used for the respective certified production on the final product.
The transfer system also makes it possible to understate the final category of the product. This means selling an FSC product with a lower statement than the purchase invoice indicates. This is useful in cases where a company purchases raw materials with different FSC statements and would like to sell its products with a fixed FSC statement.
For example, a company purchases plywood from FSC 100%, FSC Mix Credit and FSC Mix 70% manufacturers and sends the final FSC to FSC Mix70% and assigns it to all its products.
The percentage system is used by companies that intend to mix certified raw materials with other raw materials purchased with the FSC Controlled Wood category.
The percentage system cannot be used for the sale of products with the FSC 100% claim or in trade without storage. The percentage system cannot be used in the trade and distribution of finished wood and paper products.
In the percentage system, the company uses a special formula. The numerator is the amount of certified raw material and divided by the sum of certified and controlled wood used in production.
The calculated percentage is assigned to the final FSC product in the form of an FSC claim, which is later used on the sales invoice. FSC Mix70% means that 70% of the raw material used in production is FSC certified and 30% was controlled wood.
A company can calculate the percentage either for a specific production order or for a billing period, such as a specific month.
The credit system also allows the mixing of certified and non-certified but controlled raw materials in the production process.
The credit system cannot be used for the sale of products with the FSC 100% claim, in the trade of finished products or paper. The credit system is not used in trade without a warehouse or in the trade of non-wood products or in the case of printing processes.
The credit system obliges companies to establish and maintain credit accounts, separately for each product group that is within the scope of the FSC certificate. Maintaining a credit account consists of adding (when purchasing FSC raw material) and subtracting (when selling FSC products) the number of collected credits. The credit account specifies how many products with the FSC Mix Credit claim can be sold. The maintained credit account indicates that the number of products sold cannot exceed the number of accumulated purchases of FSC raw materials.
The total amount of accumulated FSC raw materials cannot exceed the amount of raw materials purchased in the last 24 months. Older credits expire and must be deducted in the 25th month counted backwards.
When running a credit account, a company must also include an efficiency factor, which determines how much post-production waste is generated in a given product group. The efficiency factor reduces the amount of products that can be sold with the FSC Mix Credit claim. A company must subtract the efficiency factor either when entering purchases into the account or when selling FSC-certified products.
