Steps regarding certification

Application for certification: The certification is a voluntary process; the applicant must ask for certification to the FSC accredited certification body, by filling in an Application Form which gives general information on the forest range or the wood processing company.

Pre-assessment: in most cases a pre-assessment of the forest management is necessary The pre-assessment aims to make the forest manager familiar with the requirements of the certification scheme, as well as to make the representatives of the certification body familiar with the particularities of the organisation applying for certification. Together, the auditor and the manager identify the strong points of the forest management as well as the weak points that represent potential nonconformities to the certification standard;

Solving the non-compliances: the forest manager must address all identified potential non-compliances and any other noncompliance against the standard requirements. The manager shall also seek to identify and correct any other weak points that were not identified during the pre-assessment. Once these have been solved, the manager may ask for the forest management assessment;

Consultation with stakeholders: before the main assessment (at least four weeks in advance), the certification body shall carry out an activity of public consultation, getting in contact with the interested parties (that may affect or may be affected by the forest management). This action is part of the certification process transparency;

Main Assessment: has the role to offer sufficient information to determine whether the way the forest is managed meets the requirements of the certification standards. In the event some of the provisions are not fulfilled (fully or partially), it has to be decided whether the noncompliance is minor or major. Non-compliances are deemed minor if they are not systematic or at large scale; therefore they have limited impact, which does not result in failure to meet a FSC criterion principle. Non-compliances are deemed major if they put into jeopardy the fulfilment of the provisions of an entire principle or criterion. Major non-compliances are usually systematic or present a large extension in time, or they affect a large area;

Issue of the certificate: on condition the requirements presented above are met, a certificate is granted, with a validity of 5 years;

Monitoring: The certifier ensures the periodic (annual) monitoring of the certified bodies, in order to assess:
1. how the conditions imposed at the certificate issue were solved;
2. issues raised by stakeholders;
3. modifications which occurred in the certificate object (area, property, products included in the certificate etc.);
4. compliance with the new requirements of the standard (the certification standards are periodically updated / amended with specific provisions);
5. permanent compliance with the provisions of the certification standards

Re-certification: : a new re-assessment is carried out before the certificate expires, in order to maintain the certification status, resulting in the issue of a new certificate.

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