The Standard
Use and Structure
This certification standard has been designed primarily for use in the certification of UK woodlands by independent certification authorities. It may also be used in conjunction with an ISO 14001 environmental management system to provide performance targets.
Full conformance with the certification standard is voluntary. However, an independent third-party evaluation by an accredited certification authority (sometimes referred to as a ‘certification body’ or ‘certifier’) is necessary to confirm conformance, in order to obtain a certificate. No woodland owner or manager is required by law or regulation to undergo such an audit. However, it should be noted that some requirements of the certification standard are also required by law, and so must be complied with by all woodland owners/managers. Other requirements are a condition of the Forestry Commission and Northern Ireland’s Forest Service grants and felling licences and must be complied with by all relevant licensees and grant-holders.
The structure of the certification standard relates to the way in which management is implemented in the woodland, addressing specific aspects of management or types of operation in turn.
The sections of the standard are as follows:
- Compliance with the law and the requirements of the certification standard
- Management planning
- Forest design: creation, felling and replanting
- Operations
- Protection and maintenance
- Conservation and enhancement of biodiversity
- The community
- Forest workforce
The standard is set out in three columns:
- Requirements: these are the compulsory elements of the standard. Woodland management must comply with all relevant requirements and certification authorities will check that each requirement is being met. ‘Requirements’ are generally stated as ‘shall’ implying they are compulsory elements of the standard. Where ‘requirements’ are stated as ‘should’ this implies that although not compulsory elements, evidence of compliance is checked by the certification authority and will contribute to overall compliance with associated requirements.
- Means of verification: these suggest the type of objective evidence - documents, actions or discussions - the certification authority should consider in order to verify that the requirement is being met. The verifiers suggested are not exclusive or exhaustive - certification authorities will not always need to use all the verifiers suggested, and may seek verification in other ways.
- Guidance notes: these aim to help both the woodland owner/manager and the certification authority to understand how requirements should be applied in practice. More information is provided to elaborate some requirements, the meaning of certain terms or phrases is explained, and examples of appropriate action are given.
Note: Certification authorities shall take full account of the ‘guidance notes’ given for each ‘requirement’ when assessing compliance with the standard.