WWF/World Bank Forest Certification Assessment Guide

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Forest Certification Assessment Guide• Both the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme forthe Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC), the twointernationally operating umbrella systems for forest managementcertification, require operational units in the respective system tocomply with at least the ISO standards for certification andaccreditation.• Assessments are more comprehensive because many aspects, forexample, independence, avoidance of conflicts of interest, orqualifications of personnel, are being dealt with broadly in theinternational frameworkstandards for certification.Properly used, the existing mechanisms canprovide sufficient evidence for the quality ofcertification schemes or systems. However,the limitations of these frameworks and thefactual application of the rules, particularlyin the field of forest managementcertification, have to be carefully evaluated.This paper outlines some aspects of thestandards and the mechanisms applied byinternational systems for guiding andcontrolling the conformity assessmentprocess, together with their possibilities and limitations. The structure follows themain parts of the process, namely, standard setting, certification, and accreditation.© WWF-Canon / Olivier VAN BOGAERT30
2 International norms and control mechanisms forcertification schemes2.1 Standard setting2.1.1 The standard-setting process and its controlStandard development can be conducted by a wide range of organizations.Traditionally, national standard-setting bodies operate as members under theumbrella of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). To govern thestandard-setting processes of its members and other standard-setting bodies, ISOissued rules that are included in the ISO Guide 59. 19 Because the rules were firstissued in 1994, international perspectives and approaches to standardization havechanged considerably. In particular, the problem of trade restrictions imposed by thestandards has been considered in the relevant documents approved in the frameworkof the WTO. 20 The ISO Guide 59 is therefore under revision and should be appliedonly with the relevant WTO guidance on standard-setting processes. The ISO itselfdoes not monitor compliance with ISO Guide 59, but national standard-setting bodiesthat are ISO members are obliged by ISO membership requirements to adhere tothese standards.For standard-setting bodies operating at the international level in the field ofenvironmental and social standards, the International Social and EnvironmentalLabelling (ISEAL) Alliance (isealalliance.org) provides guidance and monitoring forstandard-setting processes and organizations. Member organizations of ISEAL haveto adhere to the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and EnvironmentalStandards and additional guidance. 21 This ISEAL code incorporates relevant contentof the ISO Guide 59, ISO Standard 14021 22 , and the applicable WTO guidance.ISEAL documents and procedures can therefore be regarded as an appropriateframework for assessment of standard-setting processes and organizations. Forstandard-setting organizations that are members of ISEAL, the ISEAL code is abinding document and implementation is monitored through the ISEAL procedures.19 ISO/IEC Guide 59 (1994), Code of Good Practice for Standardization, Geneva.20 WTO: Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, Annex 3, Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application ofStandards.21 ISEAL (2004): Guidance on the Application of the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards, Bonn.22 ISO/IEC (1998): Environmental Labels and Declarations—Self-Declared Environmental Claims (Type II environmental labeling),Geneva.31
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WWF/World Bank Forest Certification Assessment Guide

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