Changes to draft ST 1004: certification body requirements for sustainable forest management

3 August 2023 CB SFM Requirements

The second draft of ST 1004, Requirements for Certification Bodies operating Certification against PEFC Endorsed Forest Management Standards, is under public consultation.

This is the second public consultation on this benchmark standard, with the first consultation concluding in January. The working group developing the document discussed the feedback received during the first consultation and revised the draft standard accordingly.

But what has changed between this second draft and the first?

The body text is now entirely based on ISO/IEC 17021, with any reference to potential forest certification systems based on ISO/IEC 17065 moved to an appendix. This was done to ease the reading and to highlight that PEFC considers forest certification to be management certification, although the PEFC International Board may accept, in some cases, systems that are based on ISO/IEC 17065. 

There is a new chapter on stakeholder engagement, which is vital for the implementation of the PEFC requirements. The working group developed a PEFC approach to stakeholder engagement with requirements that ensure stakeholders are engaged, while not creating additional burdens to the certification process. 

The chapter on remote audits has been strengthened based on learnings gained during the Covid 19 pandemic and what technological developments allow us to do and how they can improve certification processes. 

The minimum level of education for auditors has been increased to tertiary level (which includes education obtained at universities, technical schools, and colleges, among others). The scope for working experiences has also been broadened, to include experience in relevant disciplines, such as forestry, biodiversity, and natural resource management.  

All requirements related to group forest management certification have been moved into an appendix to improve ease of use. The structure of the appendix matches the body text of the standard and makes it easier for users to identify the requirements relevant to them.  

We look forward to hearing how you perceive these new requirements and how they respond to your needs. Every comment made will get an answer.

Fill in the form to give your feedback. Deadline for comments is 5 September 2023.

Find out more

To provide you with more information on this new standard, there will be an informative webinar later in August to cover some of the key details of this latest draft. In particular, we’ll be explaining what has been changed and developed since the first consultation earlier this year – changes that have been made thanks to the extensive feedback we received during that first consultation. 

Certification and accreditation bodies are invited to register for the webinars at 14:30, 23 August or 10:00, 30 August. 

Everybody else is invited to register for the webinars at 10:00, 23 August or 15:30, 30 August. 

All webinars will be 1.5 hours and will include an open questions and answers session. Please note, you only need to register for one webinar. 

Give your feedback

The consultation is open until 5 September 2023. Please fill in this form to receive the link to the document. 

If you have any queries, contact us at technical@pefc.org.