SQS moves into forestry and timberAt the beginning of 2003, the Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems (SQS) received accreditation in compliance with the guidelines of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). It is therefore now able to issue the sought-after FSC certificates for environmentally friendly and socially correct forest management to forestry undertakings and timber processors; these certificates are acknowledged all over the world. During the accreditation procedure, the forest in the civic communities of Berne and Biel, together with the Ebnat-Kappel brush factory and other companies, were audited in compliance with the stringent directives of the FSC.
After a procedure lasting for one year, the Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems has been authorized by FSC International to issue the FSC certificates as of January 1, 2003. SQS is pleased to report that it is the certification body which has so far successfully completed the interna-tional accreditation procedure in the shortest lapse of time. In autumn 2001, SQS had already decided to broaden its range of services to include the sought-after FSC certificate. After an office evaluation and a detailed field audit by FSC representatives, the accredi-tation agreements were signed in December 2002 and the first FSC certificates were issued by SQS in January 2003.
New product
From now on, new services are available which give interested companies easier access to the eco-market. Forestry undertakings and forest owners can now arrange for their businesses to be certified by SQS on the basis of the FSC principles and criteria for environmentally friendly and socially correct for-est management. Timber processing companies now have the possibility of achieving an FSC certificate for the further processing chain. In the first instance, the purchased FSC-certified timber (or paper) must be traceable at all stages in the business (separate processing chain).
Why the FSC?
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was founded in 1993 by environmental organizations, represen-tatives of indigenous peoples' groupings and forestry and timber industry businesses as a global, inde-pendent and public-interest organization. FSC forest certification is intended to enhance global demand for timber produced according to envi-ronmentally friendly and socially equitable standards. It is therefore first and foremost a market eco-nomic instrument which is designed to creative incentives for environmentally friendly and socially equi-table forest management. For this purpose, the FSC establishes internationally valid principles and crite-ria in the form of framework directives. By acknowledging these principles and criteria, forestry holdings and firms which are customers of the timber industry can take part voluntarily in the FSC certification procedure. Membership of the FSC is open to all natural persons and corporate bodies. Its headquarters is in Bonn, Germany.
Bruno Stingl,
FSC Product Manager and Lead Auditor at SQS
