Institutional Requirements for Forest Certification

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Institutional Requirements for Forest
Certification

• WWF Technical Certification Seminar
• Gland, 6 February 2001

Prepared by Nancy Vallejo
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Objectives of the presentation

• To review the nature of forest certification from
  its legal and technical sources
• To discuss its institutional requirements
• To consider the interaction among different
  elements

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Sources

• accreditation, standardisation and certification
  are all different elements
• Rules have been drawn by the International
  Organization for Standardization- ISO
• Standardisation and conformity assessment can
  have impact on trade
• World Trade Organization- WTO also sets rules

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Sources

• Environmental declarations
• ISO set of rules also apply
• International environmental policy in the form of
  soft/hard Laws
• Sustainable development
• International Conventions (CBD)
• Expectations of public interest groups
• NGOs, consumers org.

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Sustainable Development Concepts

• The objectives and benefits of forest
  certification are reflecting SDs principle and
  concepts

Stockholm Declaration on Human Environment (1972)
and the Brundtland Report (WCED
1987) Development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs
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Sustainable Development Concepts

• IUCN/UNEP/WWF (1991) proposed in their Strategy
  for Sustainable Living
• improving the quality of human life while
  living within the carrying capacity of supporting
  ecosystem.

UNCED process (1992) gave for the first time a
meaning to SD Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on
Environment and Development and the Forest
Principles are key in that sense. A Global
Partnership for their achievement was agreed.
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Sustainable Development Concepts

• Rio principles were integrated into the the
  environmental Conventions CBD, FCCC

Rio 5 included add. strategies for
2002 encouraging producer responsibility and
greater consumers awareness internalise
environmental costs promoting the role of
business in shaping sustainable patterns of
consumption encouraging the voluntary and
transparent use of ecolabelling
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Sustainable development Principles

• Intergenerational equity and responsibility
• The interdependence environmental protection,
  social and economic development

Incentives for well managed forest incorporating
environmental cost and benefits Precautionary
Principle
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Sustainable development Principles

• Stakeholder participation in decision-making
  Empowering people with rights and information

National Sovereignty and respect for local
conditions
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Multilateral Trade Framework

• What is WTO?

The World Trade Organisation was created in 1995
as resulted of the Uruguay Round (1986-1994) Its
purpose is to facilitate trade and deals with the
rules of trade WTO Agreements cover broad
spectrum of goods, services and intellectual
property
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Multilateral Trade Framework

• WTO has not specific agreement dealing with
  environmental matters
• Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) was
  created to study the relationship between them

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Multilateral Trade Framework

• Whether eco-labelling schemes are affected by WTO
  rules has been debated in CTE and Committee on
  Technical Barriers to Trade (CTBT).
• there is no agreement that eco-labelling or
  forest certification does fall within their
  remits.
• Agreements do not include any rules with special
  requirements for the sector or the issue, the
  main reason being that these tools are voluntary
  in essence.

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Multilateral Trade framework

• Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade - TBT
• addresses situations where conformity with
  standards and technical regulations, developed in
  a given country, is necessary to access all or
  part of the market in this country.

Forest certification systems where standards are
developed in a given country, but are accepted in
all countries, should not fall under the
regulation of the TBT Agreement
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The TBT Agreement

• encourages development of international standards
  and conformity assessment systems
  (efficiency/facilitation intern. trade)

looks to ensure technical regulations and
standards (i.e.packaging, marking and labelling
requirements/assessment procedures) do not create
unnecessary obstacles to international trade
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The TBT Agreement

• Use of international standards as basis for
  national technical regulations
• distinct mandatory technical regulations and
  voluntary standards
• made by central governments or by local gov. and
  non-governmental organisations.

Preparation and adoption of technical regulations
by governments where technical regulations are
required and relevant international standards
exist..., Members shall use them, ..., as a basis
for their technical regulations.
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The TBT Agreement

• TBT Agreement does not define international
  standard, but deem to represent the consensus of
  interested Parties at the international level.

Therefore, the process by which international
standards are developed should ensure is done in
the most democratic manner, in accordance to the
Code of Good Practice.
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The TBT Agreement

• Compliance of local and non-governmental bodies
• members shall ensure that their central
  government standardizing bodies accept and comply
  with the Code of Good Practice for the
  Preparation, Adoption and Application of
  Standards.

... take such reasonable measures ... to ensure
that local government and non-governmental
standardizing bodies accept and comply with this
Code of Good Practice. these obligations shall
apply irrespective of whether or not a
standardising body has accepted the Code of Good
Practice
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The TBT Agreement

• Avoiding discrimination in conformity assessment
• Ensure to grant access for suppliers of products
  originating in the other territories under
  conditions no less favourable than those accorded
  to suppliers of national origin

Procedure exist to review complaints concerning
the operation of a conformity assessment
procedure and to take corrective action
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Code of Good Practice
Code requires standards do not create unnecessary
obstacles to trade The standardising body,
including national certification initiatives
should not duplicate the work of other
standardising bodies, at national or
international level use the relevant part of
international standards as a basis for the
standard it is developing
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Code of Good Practice
harmonise its standard with other similar ones,
including by participating in the work of
relevant international standardising bodies allow
sufficient time for comments on a draft standard
(60 days), nationally and internationally, and
therefore provide the draft standard to
interested parties take comments into account
make an objective effort to address complaints
and try to reach consensus
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Conformity Assessment

• Standards and conformity assessment under these
  standards are probably as old as trade

1906, the International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) was created 1926, the
International Federation of National
Standardising Associations (ISA) established to
carry out pioneering work in mechanical
engineering standards after World War II
delegates from 25 nations created the ISO, the
International Organization for Standardization
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Conformity Assessment

• ISO is a private body
• It was created to facilitate international trade
  of goods and services, by developing world-wide
  technical agreements published as international
  standards

ISO counts 133 members from as many countries
Members are national standards bodies
(governmental institutions or organisations
incorporated under public law)
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Conformity Assessment

• Standards are developed by working groups
  composed of experts.
• The vast majority come from industry
• ISO has been criticised for the lack of
  participation of representatives from developing
  nations and civil society

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ISO and WTO

• ISO is closely associated to the work of the TBT
  Committee on technical barriers

ISO standards are regarded by WTO as the best way
to ensure not to cause technical barriers ISO
guides and standards are worth to consider in
developing certification schemes
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ISO concepts and principles

• There is no ISO standard directly applicable to
  forest
• Relevant documents relates to how standard
  development, accreditation and certification
  should be operated in general
• Set a framework in which more specific programmes
  should operate
• Some ISO standards give indications related to
  environmental claims (ISO 14020, ISO 14021, ISO
  14024)

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ISO concepts and principles

• Standard
• A standard is a set of requirements (consensus)
  against which a certification body assesses a
  product or service
• The process developing a standard is of utmost
  importance to determine the value of the
  certificate (ISO guide 59 indicates
  characteristics)
• Purpose
• Standards should not be written so as to mislead
  consumers and other users

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ISO concepts and principles

• Participation
• Consensus (resolution of substantial objections)
  is an essential procedural principle
• Participation in standardisation process at all
  levels shall be accessible to materially and
  directly interested persons and organisations

Transparency For a standard to be credible to its
potential users, directly (certification bodies)
or indirectly (buyers) the procedures of the
standardising body shall be available to
interested parties upon request
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ISO concepts and principles

• Certification
• Procedure by which a third party gives assurance
  that a product, process or service conforms to
  specified requirements

The certification process should be as mechanical
as possible (given a standard, different
certification bodies should arrive at the same
conclusion) certification bodies should have a
similar system (as system described by ISO/IEC
guides 62, 65 and 66, ISO/IEC 17020)
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ISO concepts and principles

• Accreditation
• Procedure by which an authoritative body gives
  formal recognition that a body or person is
  competent to carry out specific tasks (ISO/IEC
  1991)

It is the certification of certification bodies
aims at ensuring, by means of assessment and
subsequent surveillance, an assurance that the
market can rely on certificates issued by the
accredited bodies (ISO/IEC, Guide 62)
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ISO concepts and principles

• Similar guidance for both
• Have procedures that allow equity of access to
  all applicants, regardless size or location
• Quality management system in place that defines
  responsibilities and conditions for granting or
  withdrawing a certificate

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ISO concepts and principles

• Independent and impartial from vested interest -
  key for credibility
• Appropriate structures
• Participation of stakeholders
• Appropriate structures

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ISO concepts and principles

• Similar guidance for both
• Have transparent procedures and information
  available

Description of rights and duties of applicants
and accredited/certified bodies Structure of the
organisation Process and standards used for
assessments Sources of revenue
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ISO concepts and principles

• Clear rules about the reference to accredited
  status and use of logos, and mechanism to proper
  control their use

Have a system for periodic surveillance to
verify the maintenance of the conditions to
handle non-compliance or misuse, including
enforcement mechanisms
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ISO concepts and Principles

• ISO 14000 series
• ISO 14001 is the only standard intended to lead
  to certification (EMS)
• It can not be used to indicate product
  conformance with predefined requirements
• It does not require minimum performance, but it
  is useful tool to achieve specified objectives

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ISO concepts and Principles

• ISO 14000 series Environmental claims and
  declarations
• Forest certifications is not to be confused with
  an ecolabels, because only deals with the
  production of the raw material
• ISO 14020 is fully applicable
• useful guidance from ISO14021 (self declaration,
  single-issue) ISO 14024 life cycle
  environmental labels (based on third party
  multi-criteria assessment)

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Product Labelling

• Credible communication to consumers of good
  forest management will benefit the manager
• Market access and better price
• Credibility of label rest on control
• Monitoring and certification of chain of custody
  is necessary

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Public Interest Groups

• Their objectives and activities focus in the
  demand of the rights, interest and aspirations of
  society
• Social and conservation NGOs increasing role in
  policy development forest certification

their credibility lies in the responsible and
constructive role on their capability as
innovative actors to influence enterprises and
government bodies, to affect the economic
performance and mobilise support for their causes
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Public Interest Groups

• NGOs requirements include

Achieve two main objectives to improve forest
management, to ensure market access for certified
wood products Have national or sub-national-level
quantitative and qualitative forestry standards
compatible with generally accepted international
principles and criteria Be embedded into a global
framework that provides internationally
recognised, applicable and equitable standards
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Public Interest Groups

• Be voluntary
• Ensure the participation of a broad range of
  stakeholders
• Ensure independent third party assessment
• Provide objective and measurable standards
• Be fully transparent to the parties involved and
  the public

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Public Interest Groups

• Ensure certification at the management unit level
  but remain cost-effective and make all efforts to
  be equitable to small forest owners
• Ensure active commitment of the managers/owners
  of the certified unit
• Be acceptable to a large range of involved
  parties and credible to consumers, social and
  environmental NGOs
• Be market driven

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Public Interest Groups

• Consumers Organisations
• As labels of good forest management appear in the
  marketplace, consumers have an increasingly
  important voice in the debate
• They play an important role in initiating and
  advocating change in consumption patterns

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Public Interest Groups

• Their interest in forest certification is based
  on the potential role of environmental claims and
  labels for realising key rights and
  responsibilities
• The right to safety, to be informed, to choose,
  to be heard, to a healthy environment
• The responsibilities in relation to social
  concern and environmental awareness

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Public Interest Groups

• Green Guidance (CI, 1998) proposes that
  environmental labels, should not mislead
  consumers with statements that
• are too general, vague or unconvincing
• ought to be related to a products life-cycle and
  
• do not give a real idea about the actual
  superiority of the product during its life-cycle
• are not verifiable
• are not relevant to the market in which the
  product is sold

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Public Interest Groups

• Not lead to a profusion of symbols and logos,
  which would cause a confusion among consumers and
  diminish the overall credibility of labels (C I,
  1999a)

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