PCSN SCHEME DOCUMENT PCSN IV Issue 2 10-03-2017 PEFC Certification System Netherlands - Certification Procedures PEFC Netherlands Kokermolen 11 3994 DG Houten The Netherlands Tel: +31 30 693 0040 Fax: +31 30 692 5045 E-mail: info@pefcnederland.nl Web: www.pefcnederland.nl
PCSN IV Certification procedures Content 1 Scope... 3 2 Definitions... 3 3 Competence of certification bodies... 3 3.1 Accreditation... 3 3.2 Forest Management Certification... 3 3.3 Chain of Custody Certification... 4 3.4 Notification... 4 4 Competence of personnel involved in certification activities... 4 4.1 Forest Management Certification... 4 4.2 Chain of Custody Certification... 5 5 Certification process forest management... 6 5.1 Phases in the certification process... 6 5.2 Audits... 6 5.3 Audit report... 8 5.4 Certification decision... 8 6 Determining audit time...10 6.1 Audit time duration shall be in line with table 1...11 6.2 Audit times for Group Forest Management Certification...11 7 Sampling for external on-site audits with group forest management certification...12 7.1 Methodology...12 7.2 Size of sample...12 2
1 Scope This document was adopted by the General Assembly of PEFC Netherlands on 24 November 2011. This document is part of the PEFC Certification System Netherlands. This document specifies the obligations, responsibilities, competences and tasks of auditors and certification bodies carrying out forest management and chain of custody certification. It also specifies the procedures for certification and accreditation. 2 Definitions Definitions are listed in PCSN Scheme Document PCSN VIII Scheme Description. 3 Competence of certification bodies 3.1 Accreditation Certification bodies carrying out forest management and/or chain of custody certification shall have a valid accreditation issued by a national accreditation body. The accreditation shall be issued by an accreditation body that is a member of the European cooperation for Accreditation (EA) and/or the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and that works according procedures in ISO/IEC 17011:2004 and other documents recognized by the above organizations. The scope of the accreditation of certification bodies carrying out forest management certification shall state PEFC Standard Netherlands. The scope of the accreditation of certification bodies carrying out chain of custody certification shall state PEFC ST 2002:2013 Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products Requirements. Any issued, accredited forest management or chain of custody certificate shall bear the relevant accreditation symbol. 3.2 Forest Management Certification The PEFC certification of forest management shall be carried out by impartial, independent third parties, that cannot be involved in the forest management, or in the standard setting process as standard setting body and are independent of the certified entity. The certification body shall: 1) fulfill the requirements defined in ISO 17021-2015, 2) have technical competence in the field of forest management and its economic, environmental and social impact, 3) have a good understanding on the PEFC Standard Netherlands, on which the forest certification is based, 3
4) have internal procedures for forest management certification according to ISO 19011 and ISO 17021, 5) appoint competent auditors. Compliance of the certification body with the above requirements shall be verified with an accreditation 3.3 Chain of Custody Certification The PEFC certification of chain of custody shall be carried out by impartial, independent third parties, that cannot be involved in the forest management, or in the standard setting process as standard setting body and are independent of the certified entity. The certification body shall: 1) fulfill the requirements defined in ISO Guide 65 (EN 45011), 2) have technical competence in forest based procurement and processing, material flows in different stages of processing and trade, 3) have a good understanding on PEFC ST 2002:2013 Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products - Requirements on which the Chain of Custody certification is based, 4) have internal procedures for chain of custody certification according to ISO 19011 and ISO/IEC 17065:2012, 5) appoint competent auditors. Compliance of the certification body with the above requirements shall be verified with an accreditation 3.4 Notification Certification bodies shall be notified by PEFC Netherlands. The procedure for notification is stated in PEFC Notification of Certification Bodies operating Certification in The Netherlands. 4 Competence of personnel involved in certification activities 4.1 Forest Management Certification 4.1.1 The auditor: a) that carries out the field/on-site inspections in the forest shall have a MSc/BSc degree in the field of forestry and/or at least five years professional experience in this field; b) has knowledge of the Dutch forestry sector in terms of terminology and tree species and has basic knowledge of forest exploitation techniques; c) has knowledge of applicable laws and regulations mentioned in PCSN I and knowledge of the PEFC NL scheme (PCSN I to X) sufficient to determine if the management system has been effectively implemented and conforms to requirements of the PEFC NL scheme; d) has knowledge of audit principles, practices and techniques; 4
e) has knowledge of the certification body's processes; f) can have a conversation; g) has observation skills; h) has note-taking and report-writing skills; i) has interviewing skills; j) has audit-management skills; k) is fluent in Dutch. The certification body can fulfill the technical competence defined for auditors by the presence of a technical expert(s) in a group of auditors carrying out forest management audits. 4.1.2 Decision maker and reviewer Final audit report review and approval for certification is conducted by a group or one individual. The reviewer and decision maker shall be impartial when recommending or not recommending approval/maintenance of a certificate on the basis of objective criteria. Independent review and approval processes require that the reviewer and decision maker not be an individual that participated as an auditor for the audit report being reviewed. The reviewer and decision maker shall: a) be fluent in the language of the reviewed reports; b) have knowledge of the certification body's processes; c) have knowledge of PCSN I to X sufficient to make a decision on the basis of a certification audit report; d) have knowledge of the terminology of the Dutch forestry sector sufficient to understand an audit report in the context of the PEFC NL scheme (PCSN I to X); e) have the competence to evaluate the audit process and related recommendations of the audit team. The reviewer shall in addition have knowledge of audit principles, practices and techniques. 4.1.3 Personnel conducting the application review to determine audit team competence required, to select the audit team members, and to determine the audit time shall a) have knowledge of the certification body's processes and PCSN IV sufficient to assign competent audit team members and accurately determine audit time; b) have knowledge of the preface, chapter 1 Introduction 2 Scope of PCSN I; 4.2 Chain of Custody Certification The auditor: 1) shall fulfill the general criteria as defined in ISO 19011, 2) shall have, through appropriate education and/or professional experience, adequate know-how on procurement, material flows, processing and trade in the timber and paper processing industry. 3) is fluent in English and Dutch 4) has a good understanding of PEFC ST 2002:2013 Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products Requirements. 5
The certification body can fulfill the technical competence defined for auditors by the presence of a technical expert(s) in a group of auditors carrying out forest management audits. 5 Certification process forest management 5.1 Phases in the certification process The process of certification consists of the following steps: 1) Application of the applicant at the certification body 2) Assessment of the application and data submitted beforehand by the certification body 3) Voluntary pre-audit 4) Certification audit 5) Assessment and decision by the certification body 6) Control audits The applicant shall submit at least the following to the certification body: a) corporate entity (if applicable), and legal status, b) description of the area of the client organisation c) forest management documented procedures of the client organisation as defined in the forest management standard. d) general details of the applicant and, if applicable, a complete list of all participants in multisite or group certification. The applicant shall comply with the PEFC Standard Netherlands and/or PEFC ST 2002:2013 Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products Requirements before submitting the application. The purpose of submitting data beforehand and the voluntary pre-audit is to guarantee that the above mentioned standards have been implemented in the correct way by the applicant. 5.2 Audits The applicant defines the objective of the audit. The scope of the audit is determined by the lead auditor in such a way that the objective of the audit is met. The purpose of the audit is to verify if the data collected by the auditor is in compliance with the requirements in the appropriate standard. The requirements for the forest management audit are in the PEFC Standard Netherlands. The requirements for the chain of custody audit are in the PEFC ST 2002:2013 Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products Requirements. The requirements in PCSN VI PEFC Logo Usage Rules also applies in case the certified entity has a PEFC logo license in category B or C according to PCSN VI PEFC Logo Usage Rules. The applicant can define additional requirements if needed. The objective, scope and requirements shall be established in an audit plan. The audit plan also consists of a time planning and additional information, necessary for the preparation by the applicant. 6
The audit shall be carried out by an audit team. Besides the lead auditor the team shall have an adequate number of auditors or technical experts. The audit team shall be appointed by the certification body. The audit team collects the data on which the conformity with the standard shall be assessed. If needed the audit team can use information issued by other parties (e.g. NGO s, surrounding community, government). The results of the audit and the data collection are presented to the applicant during the final visit. The certification body writes an audit report that contains at least the identified nonconformities. 5.2.1 Initial audit and certification 5.2.1.1 All the requirements given in clause 9.3.1 of ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 apply. 5.2.1.2 Stage 1 audit The stage 1 audit has the function of a Readiness Review. The scope of this audit comprises: a) to confirm scope and objective of the certification audit b) to audit the client s forest management documentation c) to evaluate forest management area specific conditions d) to evaluate procedures for internal audits and management system integrity and the effectiveness of their implementation. e) determine the conformity of the client organisation with the PEFC logo usage rules and its effective implementation f) to finalize the audit plan for stage 2 audit. 5.2.1.3 Stage 2 audit a) The stage 2 audit shall take place at the office and the area of the client organisation. The audit plan for the stage 2 audit is adapted on the basis of the findings of the stage 1 audit. b) The stage 2 audit shall assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the forest management standard on the defined forest management area. 5.2.2 Surveillance activities 5.2.2.1 All the requirements given in clause 9.6.2 of ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 apply. 5.2.2.2 The certification body shall organize an annual surveillance of the client s organisation. The surveillance activities shall be planned in a way that representative areas and functions of the client s organisation are covered. 5.2.2.3 The scope of a surveillance audit can be limited compared to the certification audit. At each surveillance audit at least the following aspects shall be included: a) Compliance with legislation and regulations relevant in the areas and functions selected for the particular surveillance audit b) Review of progress of planned activities c) Sample of forest management activities in the field. 5.2.2.4 Surveillance audits shall be conducted at least once a year. The date of the first surveillance audit following initial certification or recertification shall not be more than 12 months from respectively the certification or recertification decision date. 5.2.3 Recertification 7
All the requirements given in clause 9.6.3 of ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 apply. 5.2.4 Follow up audits When the certification decision is negative the certification body can carry out a follow up audit to check if corrective actions have been taken. The certificate can be issued when the corrective actions have been implemented adequately. 5.3 Audit report 5.3.1 A report on the stage 1 audit shall be presented to the organization prior to the stage 2 audit. 5.3.2 The content of all reports on stage 2 audits, surveillance audits and reassessment audits shall: a) include a recommendation on certification by the audit team to the certification body; b) be sufficient for the certification body to make an informed decision on certification; c) allow for traceability of the objective evidence upon which the evaluation was based to establish conformance or nonconformance with the requirements of the forest management standard; d) include a summary of the most important observations, positive as well as negative, regarding the implementation and effectiveness of the forest management system; e) support the conclusions reached by the audit team. 5.3.3 Additionally, the report shall contain a summary of the audit report with the findings on the conformity with the appropriate standard. This summary shall be made public by PEFC Netherlands. 5.4 Certification decision 5.4.1 Judgment by the certification body All the requirements given in clause 9.5 of ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 apply. The certification decision shall made by the certification body based on the audit report. The decision can be positive, conditional or negative. A positive decision leads to immediate certification and issue of the certificate. A conditional or negative decision is the result of nonconformities with the requirements. A conditional decision demands making a plan of corrective actions to lift the nonconformities within a certain timeframe. When this plan is approved by the certification body the certificate can be issued under conditions. 5.4.2 Nonconformities and corrective actions 5.4.2.1 Any nonconformities with the certification requirements shall always lead to corrective actions and possible refusal, suspension or withdrawing of the certificate. There are two categories of nonconformities: minor and major (see definitions in PCSN VIII). 8
5.4.2.2 Minor nonconformities do not necessarily withhold certification. In case of major nonconformities granting a certificate is always impossible. 5.4.2.3 Major and minor nonconformities identified in the surveillance audits shall result in corrective action(s) by the client organisation resolving the nonconformities. The corrective action plan, including a timeframe shall be reviewed and accepted by the certification body. The time period for completion of the corrective action(s) for major nonconformities identified in surveillance audits and their verification by the certification body shall follow the rules of the certification body but not exceed 3 months. Corrective action(s) for minor nonconformities shall be verified no later than during the next audit. 5.4.2.4 Corrective action(s) for all nonconformities identified in initial, surveillance and recertification audits shall be verified by the certification body by site visit or other appropriate forms of verification. 5.4.2.5 Group certification has two additional types of non-conformity: at group level and at participant level. 5.4.2.6 When nonconformities are found at any group member of a group certificate, the certification body should require the group manager/central office to review the nonconformities to determine whether they indicate an overall system deficiency applicable to other sites or not. If they are found to do so, corrective action should be performed and verified both at the group manager/central office and at the individual affected sites. If they are found not to do so, the group manager/central office should be able to demonstrate to the certification body the justification for limiting its follow-up corrective action. 5.4.2.6.1 The certification body shall require evidence of these actions and increase its sampling frequency and/or the size of sample until it is satisfied that control is reestablished. 5.4.2.6.2 If the nonconformities indicate an overall forest management deficiency applicable to the overall function of the group certification shall be denied to the whole multisite client organisation pending satisfactory corrective action. 5.4.2.6.3 It shall not be admissible that, in order to overcome the obstacle raised by the existence of a nonconformity at a single site, the client organisation seeks to exclude from the scope the "problematic" site during the certification process. 5.4.3 Validity and revision When the requirements of the appropriate standard are revised, the requirements at the time of the certification audit will apply to the certified entity. The certified entity has a transition period of one year to adapt his management to the new requirements. The certificate is valid for five years or less. The certification body is allowed to permanently withdraw or temporarily suspend the certification during the validity. The decision on withdrawal or suspension shall be communicated to the certified entity by written motivation. To extend the validity of the certificate the certification body shall carry out a re-certification audit after five years. All the requirements in clause 9.6.5 ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 apply for suspending or withdrawing the certificate. The certified entity can withdraw the certificate at any point during its validity. The withdrawal shall come into effect immediately after the certified entity has informed the certification thereof in writing. 9
5.4.4 Information on certificates The certification document for individual certification shall include at least the following information: a. Identification of the certification body, b. Name and address of the client organisation c. A unique certificate number d. Name of the forest area e. Size of the forest area f. A conformity declaration that states: [fill out CB name] hereby declares that the forest management system of [fill out name forest owner, name forest area and hectares] complies with the requirements of PCSN I for forest owners with [fill out which category applies: < 5ha / 5-200ha/ >200ha] forest ([fill out date of the document version that is accepted by the RvA]) and is registered as such. g. Accreditation mark as prescribed by the accreditation body (including accreditation number where applicable), and the date of granting, extending or renewing certification and the expiry date or recertification due date (see 5.3.4). The effective date on a certification document shall not be before the date of the certification decision. h. Expiry date of the certification document A certification document for group certification shall include at least the following information: a. Identification of the certification body, b. Name and address of the client organisation (the group manager) c. Name and address of the participating forest owners d. It shall include a unique certificate number of the group and unique sub-certificate numbers of participating forest owners e. Name of each of the forest areas f. Size of the forest area per participant of the group certificate g. A conformity declaration that states: [fill out CB name] hereby declares that the forest management system of the identified forest owners on this certificate complies with the requirements of PCSN I ([fill out date of the document version that is accepted by the RvA]) and is registered as such. h. Per forest owner which category of the PCSN I requirements are applied (< 5ha / 5-200ha/ >200ha) i. Accreditation mark as prescribed by the accreditation body (including accreditation number where applicable), and the date of granting, extending or renewing certification and the expiry date or recertification due date (see 5.3.4). The effective date on a certification document shall not be before the date of the certification decision. j. Expiry date of the certification document The certification body supplies to PEFC Netherlands all details on all issued forest management and chain of custody certificates and any changes in the validity and scope of these certificates. 5.4.5 Complaints procedure The certification body shall have a documented complaints procedure for the handling of complaints and disputes between applicants/certified entities and the certification body. 6 Determining audit time 10
6.1 Audit time duration shall be in line with table 1 Table 1 audit time duration indicator (hours) Forest area size forest owner Initial audit Surveillance Recertification Stage 1 Stage 2 audit audit <5 ha 2 3 3 3+1 5-200 ha 2 3 3 3+1 >200 ha 2 4/5* 4/5* 4/5*+1 * The 5 hours for Big participants is recommended especially for Forest Management Units that are spread over a large area, and where there existdifferent locations further away from each other. The certification body shall be able deviate from the audit times in table 1 with 30% if it is able to demonstrate its justification for this based on: size of the forest area of the site (larger size could require more audit time and vica versa) intensity of forest management activities at the particular site (more intensive management could require more audit time and vica versa) the scope of the audit quality/level of confidence of the internal audit program the results of any prior audits, including those of client organization s management systems. The duration of the management system audit and its justification shall be recorded by the certification body as well as reasons for the justification of reductions. 6.2 Audit times for Group Forest Management Certification 6.2.1 The certification body shall be able to demonstrate its justification for the time spent on group certification audits in terms of its overall policy for allocation of audit time. The duration of the management system audit and its justification shall be recorded. 6.2.2 The audit time to spend for each individual site is the same as defined according to the procedure required in in clause 6.1. Reductions can be applied to take into account the clauses of the forest management and group certification standard that are not relevant to sites and are only examined at the central office. 6.2.3 See table 2 for audit time duration at the group manager. Deviations can be applied to take into account the clauses that are not relevant to the central office and/or the local sites and the number of forest owners that participate in the group. Reasons for the justification of such reductions shall be recorded by the certification body. Table 2 audit time duration indicator (hours) Surveillance Recertification Initial audit audit audit group manager 8 4 4+2 11
7 Sampling for external on-site audits with group forest management certification 7.1 Methodology 7.1.1 All requirements given in Clause 5.1 and 5.2 of MD 1:2007, apply. 7.1.2 At least 25% of the sample should be selected at random. 7.1.3 The site selection criteria on the non-random selected group members shall consider the following aspects: Results of internal audits or previous certification audits Records of complaints and other relevant aspects of corrective and preventive action; Significant variations in production processes of the sites; Modifications since the last certification audit; intensity of forest management activities at the particular sites (more intensive management requires a higher audit frequency). 7.1.4 This selection does not have to be done at the start of the evaluation process. It can also be done once the audit at the central office has been completed. In any case, the central office shall be informed of the sites to be part of the sample. This can be on relatively short notice, but should allow adequate time for preparation for the audit. 7.1.5 The central office of the client organization shall be examined during every initial, surveillance and re-certification audit. 7.1.6 The certification body shall implement this procedure for determining the sampling for on-site audits in its certification program. 7.2 Size of sample 7.2.1 Initial audit 7.2.1.1 The number of audits is at least: of group members with not more than 200 ha of forest rounded to the upper whole number; plus of group members with more than 200 ha of forest rounded to the upper whole number. All requirements given in 5.4.2.6 apply 7.2.2 Surveillance audit 7.2.2.1 The number of audits is at least: 12
0.6 of group members with not more than 200 ha of forest rounded to the upper whole number plus; 0.6 of group members with more than 200 ha of forest rounded to the upper whole number. All requirements given in 5.4.2.6 apply 7.2.3 Recertification audit 7.2.3.1 The number of audits is at least: of group members with not more than 200 ha of forest rounded to the upper whole number. Where the management system has proved to be effective over a period of three years, the size of the sample could be reduced by a factor 0.8, i.e.: (y=0.8 x), rounded to the upper whole number. And; of group members with more than 200 ha of forest rounded to the upper whole number. Where the management system has proved to be effective over a period of three years, the size of the sample could be reduced by a factor 0.8, i.e.: (y=0.8 x), rounded to the upper whole number. All requirements given in 5.4.2.6 apply 13