New timber chain of custody scheme takes off

Timbmet Group has today (Tuesday) gained certification of a new chain of custody scheme launched by BM TRADA Certification.

"The scheme will give recognition and market access to national forest certification programmes and initiatives that are not currently included within FSC or PEFC certification programmes," said BM TRADA scheme manager Alasdair McGregor.

The Forest Products Chain of Custody Certification Scheme means that, for the first time, importers like Timbmet will be able to continue chain of custody through to their customers for certified timber from Malaysia (MTCC), the US (SFI) and Canada (CSA), for example. Timber certified by BM TRADA will be clearly labelled under its national scheme.

To achieve certification, applicants must have a documented chain of custody management system covering: purchasing; goods inwards inspection; raw material storage; processing; finished goods storage; product labelling; sales and distribution; document control and training.

An annual audit will be carried out, including an evaluation of the supplier's control system and procedures for labelling certified products. Applicants holding ISO 9001:2000 quality management systems registration or FSC/PEFC chain of custody certification may integrate BM TRADA CoC procedures within those schemes. 

McGregor added: "We do not want to make the new scheme cumbersome, by duplicating existing procedures, but to create generic chain of custody procedures to cover different systems. The distinct differences between such schemes will be recognised and preserved."

The scheme has already won the blessing of the Royal Horticultural Society which will now allow companies with the new CoC certification to exhibit at major events like the Chelsea Flower Show.