Proof of evidence for the procurement of wood
from sustainable forestry
The demand for products from sustainable forestry and the relating environmentally-conscious handling with natural resources is increasing and the private end consumer are following this trend, but this topic is becoming increasingly important also in the public procurement.
Therefore, following the example of the administrative regulation procurement and environment - VwVBU, the so-called “Berlin Model”, the federal ministries have now also agreed on concrete procurement directives to guarantee a sustainable forestry.Legal background
On 6 October 2017, the federal ministries involved in the decree have published a revised version to the “Guideline to the common decree on the procurement of wood products of 22 December 2010” (“Procurement decree for wood products”).
In the case of public construction work, wood with a value of EUR 2,000 or more can only be purchased from sustainable and legal forestry. A corresponding evidence can be made in two different ways:- Chain-of-Custody-Zertifikat (CoC) in the form of a product certification by the systems FSC® or PEFC™ or an equivalent certificate.
- Individual verification rendered by unrelated third parties.
What is an individual verification?
Why do I need an individual verification?
Which companies are suitable for an individual verification?
An individual verification is a cost-effective and effective alternative of verification management for not certified companies. Especially smaller companies at the end of the processing chain, such as trade and service industries, benefit from this. Particularly in the case of rare contracts for the public sector, a more complex certification is not absolutely necessary and the involvement in tendering is still possible.
Proof is required if the value of goods exceeds EUR 2,000 per procurement process.For whom is the Chain-of-Custody (CoC) certificate suitable?
What information does an individual verification contain?
The following criteria must be defined in the incoming goods inspection:
Quantitative purchase
The ordered quantities of wood or wood products (running meter, area, volume, etc.) must correspond to the order.
Time-related purchase
Order and delivery must contain a time-related reference to the order.
Content-related purchase
Wood or wood products must be assigned to the order according to various criteria (e.g. type of wood / product).
Application of an individual verification for a particular order?
