We have all I am sure seen the Forestry Stewardship Council FSC logo which appears on products derived from wood sources, providing assurance that the wood is from a sustainable source rather than from some illegal logging programme. The FSC scheme requirements cover anything from wooden furniture and building structures to copier paper and toilet rolls.
Only recently have I had to understand what this really means whilst developing a Quality System for a customer that processes wood products who also required Certification to the FSC Chain of Custody requirements.
The FSC Chain of Custody scheme is a traceability scheme to provide a purchaser of wood products confidence that the material has been sourced from managed sources certificated by the FSC. If you purchase a product with the FSC logo you should be able to trace back from your supplier right back to the forest from which the wood was sourced.
I now notice the FSC logo all over the place, even in the toilet roll section of my local supermarket. It can be seen as being equally applicable for your local joiner or carpenter to be able to provide you with the assurance that the materials they use are from a sustainable source also.
The FSC Chain of Custody requirements can be found here http://www.fsc-uk.org/chain-of-custody-coc-certification.12.htm
If you do process wood products and are interested in being part of the FSC Chain of Custody scheme and would like some assistance in applying the requirements please phone 01434 230580.