SFI Chain of Custody Requirements

SFI chain-of-custody certification extends into the marketplace by tracking fiber content from certified lands and responsible fiber sourcing through production and manufacturing to the end product. These claims can be made based on either the physical separation or percentage-based methods. To be certified, companies must be audited to SFI Requirements: Section 3 – SFI Chain-of-Custody Standard.

Through SFI chain-of-custody certification, a company can accurately identify how much certified, responsible sourcing and/or recycled content is in a product.

All certification programs, including SFI, use the following two methods to calculate the percentage of certified fiber. Companies can also physically separate the certified forest content to make a 100 percent certified forest content claim.

• Under the average percent method, a company must disclose (based on average content) what percentage of the fiber in the product comes from certified lands, from recycled content (if applicable), and from non-certified lands. If 30 percent of the fiber is from certified land, then 100 per cent of the output can be sold as having 30 percent certified forest content. Only the average percent method may be used to qualify for the “percent-content” label.
• Under the volume credit method, a company may use an SFI label on the percentage of its output that corresponds to the average percentage of fiber in the product that comes from certified lands. This means that if 30 percent of the fiber is from certified land, then 30 percent of the output can be sold as certified.

The chain of custody is verified by an independent third-party certification audit. Whether it is paper, packaging, or construction materials, a claim can be made regarding the certified content, similar to recycled content claims and labels seen on products. Consumers who look for the SFI-certified content label on a product are rewarding responsible forest practices.

• Introduction to the SFI Standard
• SFI Chain of Custody Requirements
• SFI Fiber Sourcing Requirements
• SFI Labels & Claims
• Independent Certification Bodies
• Complaints
• Accreditation of Independent Certification Bodies
• American Tree Farm System
• Programme For The Endorsement Of Forest Certification Schemes