Tracking It Back: A new standard to support responsible use of wood just published

Deforestation and forest degradation are ravaging our planet, threatening biodiversity and contributing to climate change havoc and global warming. As consumer awareness grows, so too does the demand to know the origins of wood in the products they buy. A new ISO standard for tracing wood back to its sources will help to provide this information.

With many players in the wood supply chain, and many different types of wood, tracing its origins to legal sources is complex. A robust method of traceability, therefore, will help businesses favour timber that comes from legal sources, thus enabling the industry to grow. ISO 38200, Chain of custody of wood and wood-based products, specifies the requirements for a chain of custody of wood and wood-based products that allows users to trace the origins of wood and wood products every step along the supply chain.

This new International Standard lets users determine if the material is “verified”, for which evidence of compliance with the requirements of a due diligence system can be provided; “specified”, where it meets specific publicly available documented requirements set by organizations; “certified”, when it satisfies the requirements of a particular certification scheme; or “recycled”, if it has been recovered, or otherwise diverted, from the waste stream.