The International Standardization Organization (ISO) recently published Standard 38200 related to the Chain of Custody (CoC) of Wood and Wood-based products. FSC has been involved in its formulation as a liaison group.

Since the ISO standard gives advice on how companies can apply chain of custody verification, companies have asked FSC to clarify how this ISO Standard relates to the FSC Chain of Custody Standard.

The ISO standard clearly states that it cannot be used for certified output claims and that for those claims the CoC standards that are connected with the specific certification claims must apply. In practice, this means that any company wishing to make FSC chain of custody claims must adhere to the FSC CoC standard as the only valid standard.

The 38200 ISO Standard does not include essential components that lead to accurate FSC claims, and it does not require second or third-party verification.

Finally, FSC reminds companies working with FSC-certified inputs that to achieve “FSC-certified” or “certified” claims, the ISO Standard is not an appropriate alternative to the FSC CoC standard.