FSC has introduced transaction verification for wood pellets covering the major producer and consumer markets in Asia.

Selected certificate holders in Asia are now required to participate in transaction verification for FSC wood pellets (W3.6 wood pellets) and all related transactions for the year 2020 (from 1st January to 31st December 2020). Companies will be notified directly by their certification body by 23 April 2021. The deadline for certificate holders to submit transaction verification data is 23 May 2021. 

This comes after FSC and Assurance Services International received questions and allegations about the integrity of the FSC-certified wood pellet supply chain in the region, including allegations that wood pellets might be sourced from illegitimately-harvested forests and manufactured by non-certificate holders who are carrying FSC claims.

When produced from sustainable sources, wood pellets are a renewable energy source used for industrial power generation and residential heating purposes. Wood pellets are made from wood waste from wood-processing companies or from fresh forest fibres. Japan and Korea are major importers of wood pellets from South-East Asian countries including Vietnam and Thailand.

Read more here about transaction verification and the data integrity of the information collected.