FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is a global, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of responsible forest management worldwide. FSC works at promoting an appropriate management of the world’s forests to preserve the environment and develop communities. In the packaging industry, being certified by the Forest Stewardship Council demonstrates that the paper / board used to produce packaging come from well managed sources. There are three categories of products concerned by FSC certification.
- FSC 100% certifies that 100% of the fiber comes from an FSC certified forest.
- FSC Recylced certifies that all the fiber comes from reclaimed material.
- FSC mix certifies that the fiber comes from FSC certified forests, recycled material and controlled wood. Unacceptable forestry, illegal wood are then excluded.
Packaging manufacturers can apply for the Chain of Custody Certification. The aim is to develop a chain of custody management system, allowing an accurate tracking of the goods at every change of ownership, from the forest to the manufacture and the distribution. This allows customers to track the origin of the material in their products. The certification includes general quality management requirements. The scope of the system (products and material that will be sold with FSC claim) should be clearly defined.
During the manufacturing process, there are four main areas concerned by the FSC certification requirements:
- Material sourcing to make sure that FSC certification requirements are met upstream.
- Reception and storage to identify and segregate properly FSC material from other inputs.
- Volume control to track FSC inputs all along transformation processes.
- Sales and delivery to allow an effective tracking downstream.
More information can be found on the FSC website.
At Netpak, our latest audit done by an independent auditor took place on march 15th, 2016 and we are pleased to announce the renewal of our certification.
Do not hesitate to contact us (netpak@netpak.com) in order to discuss potential collaboration opportunities, and solutions that we can bring to you.