The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a network of the national standards institutes of 146 countries, on the basis of one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland that coordinates the system. ISO establishes standards applicable for use across all industry sectors. The ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard (ISO) is used by many forest industry companies to guide their environmental practices in the forest and the mill. Further, ISO provides guidance for the following relevant aspects of operating a forest certification system.
Governance
The ISO Guide 65 General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems offers guidance on issues for bodies to consider in establishing a certification system. This includes defining and documenting the policy objectives of the system; a commitment to continuous improvement of the system; disclosure of minimum certification requirements; and the body’s source of financial support.
Standards
The ISO Guide 59 Code of good practice for standardization offers comprehensive guidance on standards development. This guidance includes providing a forum for public participation, disclosing standards development procedures, using consensus-based decision-making, and having procedures for addressing disputes.
Accreditation
The relevant ISO principles are outlined in ISO Guide 61 General requirements for assessment and accreditation of certification/registration bodies, Guide 62 General requirements for bodies operating assessment and certification/registration of quality systems and Guide 66 General requirements for bodies operating assessment and certification/registration of environmental management systems. These guides outline the requirements and procedures accreditation bodies should employ to be viewed as credible. Guides address issues such as the organization of the accreditation body, technical capacity, dispute resolution, and procedures for carrying out accreditation.
Certification
There are two ISO guides that outline the structure and process of entities that undertake certification activities—Guide 62 General requirements for bodies operating assessment and certification/registration of quality systems and Guide 66 General requirements for bodies operating assessment and certification/registration of environmental management systems. These guides discuss the capacity of the verification entity, the requirements for achieving, maintaining and renewing the certification, the decision-making process and the dispute resolution procedures.
Product Tracking and Labeling
The ISO 14000 standard series provides guidance for three types of environmental claims. A Type I (Environmental labeling program) claim is rewarded through a voluntary, multiple criteria third-party verification system and states the environmental characteristics of the product on a life-cycle basis. The Type II (Self declaration) claim is an environmental performance statement made by a benefiting entity (manufacturer, distributor, retailer or other benefiting entity) without third-party verification. A Type III (Environmental declaration) claim is a presentation of independently verified quantifiable data on environmental performance.
Forest certification product claims do not completely fit into any of the ISO definitions for making an environmental product claim. Although the ISO Type I claim describes some aspects common to forest certification—voluntary, multiple criteria and independent verification—most systems in existence today do not make any claims on the life cycle impacts of the forest product. Rather, forest certification systems make claims as to the quality of the forest management—that is, the environmental aspects of the production of raw material associated with the end use product.
ISO on the Ground
The majority of large forestry companies in North America have committed to implement ISO environmental management system principles in managing their lands and in operating manufacturing facilities. Although detailed figures are not kept in the United States, the volume of forest lands in Canada managed in accordance with ISO 14001standard is 313.7 million acres. Some of these lands are also certified in accordance with other forest certification systems as well.
To learn more about ISO, visit its Web site.
