Global-Mark is advising of some recent changes and updates to the FSC scheme that could have implications for you as FSC certificate holders. The following changes are advised:
- Annual Administration Fee (AAF) Fee Increase – In line with the inflation rate of 2023, which was published by the International Monetary Fund (source), FSC will be adjusting the AAF to 6.8%. The inflation adjustment enters into force on January 1st, 2025. Further information on the AAF can be found here Annual Administration Fee | FSC Connect
- ADVICE-40-004-25 Requirements for the organization to provide information to the certification body (CB) for Annual Administration Fee (AAF) calculation – This advice note provides the normative requirement to supply turnover information and verifiable evidence to the certification body and the conditions for exceptions and the applicable rates if an exception applies.
- ADVICE-40-004-23 V2-0-Evaluation of contractors against the FSC core labour requirements -This advice note applies to all Chain of Custody (CoC) certificate holders and CoC applicants that outsource activities within the scope of their certification to non-FSC-CoC-certified contractors. There are three requirements for certificate holders using outsourcing: 1. including the contractor’s commitment to core labour requirements in the outsourcing agreements or shall provide a policy of the contractor’s that demonstrates such a commitment; 2. include non-FSC-certified contractors with an outsourcing agreement within its self-assessment, which describes how the organization has confirmed the contractors’ conformity to the FSC core labour requirements; and 3. shall, if applicable, provide and make available to Global-Mark, audit evidence of the contractor’s conformity to the FSC core labour requirements, including audit documentation and records, obtained from an on-site first-party, second-party, or third-party audit, conducted at least annually, which includes worker interviews.
Please consult FSC-DIR-40-004 EN (Document | FSC Connect) for more detailed information and the important changes that you will need make to ensure compliance before the end of the transition period (December 2025).
Please contact Global-Mark if you would like to know more about what these changes may mean for your business by emailing our Program Manager, Emily Silberberg at Emily.silberberg@global-mark.com.au.
