认证

认证是执行尽职调查的工具

2013 年《欧盟木材法规》(EUTR) 规定，“经营者”（欧盟市场上木材或衍生木制品的引进者）必须对进口的所有木材产品开展“尽职调查”。尽职调查包括采用一系列措施和程序，旨在尽可能降低将非法来源的木材或木材产品投放到欧盟市场的风险。但是，如果调查显示，从原产国采购具有较高的违法风险，那么进口经认证的木材便是减轻风险的适当措施。但选择经认证的木材并不能自动免除贸易商履行“尽职调查”的义务。此外，经认证木材的进口商还须确保获得有关木材采伐国、供应商、树种等方面的信息，以证明其供货仅包含合法采伐的木材。仅持有 FLEGT（“森林执法、施政和贸易行动计划”）或 CITES（《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》）木材出口许可证的产品才可免于执行欧盟尽职调查的要求（即所谓的“绿色通道”）。

受欧盟委员会委托，Preferred By Nature 于 2021 年 8 月发布了一项关于林业部门和木制品认证和验证方案的研究。该研究以英文进行，旨在让该部门的利益相关方更好地了解认证方案是否符合 EUTR 的要求。它特别提醒，木材和木制品获得认证并不代表免除风险评估。 

wHAT can certification PROVIDE?

Not all certification schemes have the same purpose or scope. For timber supply chains, it is useful to distinguish between sustainable forest management certification and timber legality certification or verification.

Two main types of certification

Sustainable forest management certification, such as FSC and PEFC, covers a broad range of environmental, social and economic requirements. It addresses legal compliance, but goes further by assessing how forests are managed over the long term, including biodiversity protection, forest regeneration, workers’ rights and the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

These schemes also use chain-of-custody certification to control certified material as it moves through processing and trade.

Timber legality certification or verification schemes, such as OLB, sustainability framework (PBN), etc, focus primarily on verifying that timber has been legally harvested, processed and traded in accordance with the applicable legal framework. They can also include traceability and chain-of-custody requirements. For example, Bureau Veritas describes OLB as combining verification of forest-sector legal requirements with timber traceability and a chain-of-custody system.

1. Trace the origin of timber

Certification provides a structured framework for timber traceability throughout the supply chain. Chain-of-custody systems establish controls to identify and track certified or verified material as it is purchased, processed and sold.

Depending on the certification scheme, its scope and the chain-of-custody model used, traceability information may include:

• the origin of the timber;
• the forest, concession or harvesting area;
• suppliers and other actors in the supply chain;
• batches, volumes and product movements;
• processing and trade stages.

The level of traceability may vary between certification schemes and supply chains. Where more detailed origin information is required — such as geolocation of harvesting areas or plots — buyers should verify whether this information is provided by the certification scheme or can be obtained from the certified supplier.

2. Verify legality

Legal compliance is a core requirement of both sustainable forest management and timber legality certification schemes. Legality schemes focus specifically on verifying compliance with applicable laws, while sustainable forest management certification includes legality within a broader set of environmental and social requirements.

Depending on the scheme and the applicable national legislation, verification may cover:

• harvesting and land-use rights;
• forest and environmental requirements;
• labour and workers’ rights;
• the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples;
• taxes, fees and royalties;
• transport, trade and export requirements.

Compliance is assessed through document reviews, independent third-party audits and  field inspections.

3. Support sustainable forest management

Sustainable forest management certification provides assurance that forests are managed according to environmental, social and economic requirements that go beyond legal compliance.

Forest management standards such as FSC and PEFC require certified forest managers to address key aspects of responsible forest management, including:

• long-term forest management planning and monitoring;
• maintenance and regeneration of forest resources;
• protection of biodiversity, habitats and other environmental values;
• protection of soils, water and forest ecosystem functions;
• management of environmental impacts from harvesting activities;
• workers’ rights and working conditions;
• the rights and interests of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

These requirements are implemented through forest management standards and are subject to independent third-party certification and ongoing audits.

A tool for meeting market requirements

Certification helps companies secure their supply chains, demonstrate responsible sourcing and provide verified information to customers and business partners. It can also support due diligence and compliance with regulatory requirements in different markets.

In the European Union, certification can provide information and independent verification relevant to traceability, legality, origin and risk assessment under the EUDR.

FSC and PEFC have gone further by developing specific voluntary EUDR modules that complement their existing certification systems: the FSC Regulatory Module and the PEFC EUDR Due Diligence System (DDS) module. These voluntary modules build on existing certification and Chain of Custody requirements and introduce additional requirements specifically designed to support EUDR due diligence, traceability, information collection and risk management.

Even without these voluntary EUDR modules, FSC and PEFC certification and legality certifcation can still provide valuable information and independent assurance for risk assessment and risk mitigation. However, operators must identify any information that is not provided through the standard certification system and obtain it separately from their suppliers. This may include, in particular, plot-level geolocation data, production dates, and sufficiently detailed information to map and understand the supply chain and link the timber to its origin.

森林认证

“森林认证”是一款基于市场的工具，是自愿完成的认证流程，由独立的第三方（“认证机构”）根据公共或私立认证组织预先确定的一系列要求（“标准”）评估森林管理和生产的质量。“森林认证”及相关标签是向消费者传达森林（即木材及其他森林产品的来源）管理质量的一种方式。一般通过两个独立但又相互关联的流程来执行认证：

1. 森林管理认证旨在评估是否按照一系列特定（可持续和/或合法）标准进行森林管理；以及
2. 监管链认证（有时称为 CoC 认证）旨在验证在从森林到最终消费者的整个生产过程中，经认证的材料是否能够加以识别，或与未经认证或非受控材料区分开来。

如要将最终产品标记为认证产品，需要获得森林管理认证和监管链认证。

本文简要介绍了七种常见的认证体系、这些体系如何促进尽职调查流程，以及这种体制如何适应《欧盟木材法规》的要求等。在本门户网站的框架内，我们对可持续森林认证体系和木材合法性验证体系进行了区分，本文介绍了与我们密切相关和最常用的体系：