Monday, 10 August 2009
Extension of Transitory Period for CoC Requirements
The deadline by which the following two exemptions from current FSC Chain-of-Custody requirements will expire has been extended from December 31, 2009, to December 31, 2010:
- Exemption of co-products from uncertified virgin material input to be confirmed as controlled material.
- Exemption of a labeling minimum threshold of 50 percent for chip and fiber products under a percentage (or transfer) system.
The relevant FSC Advice Note “FSC-ADV-40-004: Transitory Requirements for Chain of Custody Control and Labeling” has been revised accordingly. The exemptions can be applied to “FSC Mixed Sources” product groups, allowing the use of co-products as controlled material and the labeling of chip and fiber products at the current percentage threshold of 50 percent until December 31, 2010, when the threshold will be increased to 70 percent.
The extension followed a decision by the FSC Board of Directors to adhere to the recommendation of the FSC Technical Working Group on Chain-of-Custody, which requested that FSC review the supply situation of FSC-certified chip and fiber material before removing these exemptions. The FSC Board of Directors has mandated FSC to conduct a market analysis and to present the results by mid 2010. At the same time, the FSC Board of Directors decided to extend the expiration of the transitory requirements to allow the market analysis to be completed and reviewed.