FSC Certification

In response to many of our customers’ requests, Steve Ward & Associates (SWA) began the process to become a provider of certified wood products in July 2008. After much research, we decided to pursue being a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain-of-custody (COC) certificate holder. We chose Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) to perform our certification evaluation and in-depth compliance audit. In October 2008 SWA was issued a FSC COC certificate.

What does this mean for our customers:

If you purchase certified wood products from SWA, you can be assured we will comply with all FSC guidelines and regulations which will ensure those wood products come from socially and environmentally sustained forests.
FSC products furnished by SWA will have an approved FSC label containing our COC certificate number. FSC products will be broken out separately on invoices which will have the required COC certificate number. Without a valid COC certificate number on your invoice, you cannot be assured the products you purchased meet certified wood requirements and come from sustainable forest.
As a certificate holder, SWA can help meet Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) requirements for certified wood.
All products we offer are not available with certified wood. Please ask us about FSC availability.

If interested in FSC certified products for your project, please inquire with one of our sales consultant professionals. Going forward, SWA will continue to strive for the highest standards in environmentally conscious distribution and manufacturing.

FSC

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. FSC has offices in more than 46 countries and provides standard setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services for companies and organizations interested in responsible forestry. Products carrying the FSC label are independently certified to assure consumers that they come from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations. All COC certificate holders are listed on the FSC web site. FSC products must have a proper chain-of-custody.

How does the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain-of-Custody (COC) break?

FSC & LEED

Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification requires that the components used in the Material and Resources (MR) section comply with FSC COC regulations. One credit is available for the use of FSC certified wood products in the MR section under MR 7- Certified wood.

New 2008 LEED regulations specify that all FSC certified wood products must be provided to a project contractor or sub-contractor from a vendor who holds a current FSC Chain-of-Custody (COC) certificate and can provide their COC number on the final invoice. It is possible for anyone to purchase FSC material, but if the purchasing or manufacturing company does not hold a valid FSC COC certificate, the chain is broken and the product no longer qualifies for LEED MR 7 credit.

According to the FSC International website, companies that need to be FSC COC certified include:

Any operation making, changing, trading, re-labeling or repackaging FSC-certified products needs to be COC certified in order to use the FSC trademarks and to enable its customers to make an FSC claim about these products. Source - FSC International at www.fsc.org
By the FSC's definition, a company or customer (end user) cannot make any claims (i.e. - consider the dollar value of a product for MR 7 calculations) unless the final point of sale was an FSC COC certificate holder. The letters 'FSC', and the FSC 'Tree and Checkmark' trademark are both copy-write protected and only companies holding a valid COC certificate have the right to claim their products are FSC certified, contain FSC content, or can be used as FSC in the LEED MR 7 calculation.
In the past, some non-FSC COC certified companies have purchased FSC raw materials, or, subcontracted services from vendors that are FSC certified, and told LEED project teams that they can receive credit towards their MR 7 calculations. According to the new LEED regulations, this practice is unacceptable; wood product suppliers must provide FSC COC certification from all of their vendors, sub contractors, and suppliers in order to achieve FSC COC product certification for LEED program credits. Companies that do not hold a valid FSC COC certificate do not have a COC code and cannot use the letters 'FSC' on their invoices without violating copy-write laws.

Click here to view the Steve Ward listing on the FCS website.

Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) is a private, for-profit business based in Emeryville, California that operates globally. As our name indicates, our sole business is providing science-based, professionally competent certification services in the marketplace, across a range of subject areas. SCS specializes in food safety, forest and fisheries management, life cycle impact analysis, corporate social responsibility, environmental claims, and environmentally preferable products.