The recent turmoil in the timber market, related to the availability of wood material, has brought many changes to the Polish market. Individual Regional Directorates of State Forests in Poland are successively abandoning the valid international FSC certificate. This is a huge challenge for Polish entrepreneurs because for most companies operating in Poland in the wood, wood-based or paper industry – having this certificate is a requirement, without which they cannot sell their products on the foreign market.
FSC certification is a guarantee of sustainable forest management. The program is based on the principles of sustainable development and responsible forest management practices, as well as principles for tracking trade and production of wood products from certified forests.
A company, e.g. a sawmill, a wood processing plant, sourcing raw material directly from Regional State Forests will not be able (despite having a valid FSC CoC certificate) to sell its finished products with FSC certification.
The first alternative to the FSC system is forest management and supply chain certification under the PEFC system. The FSC program and the PEFC program are competing forest products supply chain certification systems. As with FSC, the main purpose of establishing the program is to promote sustainable forest management through certification processes carried out with independent specialized certification bodies.
At the moment, all State Forests in Poland (with the exception of the Białowieża Forest) have a valid PEFC system certificate. This is good news because the PEFC supply chain sequence is maintained, which is one of the requirements of the PEFC system for certificate holders. If a company decides to certify under the PEFC system, it is important – to figure out whether its target customers will be satisfied with the purchase of PEFC-certified products/raw materials. Importantly, FSC-certified companies can also certify their businesses under the PEFC system – one certification does not preclude the other.
A second alternative for FSC-certified companies is to expand their FSC certification to include the FSC CW Controlled Wood Sourcing Requirements Standard. This standard, after implementation of the relevant due diligence system (DDS) requirements and certification by an independent certification body, allows companies to purchase raw materials from suppliers/forests that are not certified and subsequently sell them with FSC system certification to their customers.
Anyone interested in getting support is welcome to contact Peterson Academy, a consulting firm, directly.
Author: Natalia Kobiela, certification specialist
Write: biuro@onepeterson.pl Call: 722 005 933