Chain of Custody

RFS Principals have worked for over a decade as sub-contracted auditors on behalf of SGS (established 1878), the preeminent global inspection, verification, testing, and certification company. RFS has thereby gained substantive experience of the use of the FSC® and PEFC™ Forest Management (FM) and Chain of Custody (CoC) standards, as well as the SFI™ FM/CoC standards (the latter in the US and Canada). Both Marcelo Levy and Nick Moss Gillespie are qualified Chain of Custody Lead Auditors, with extensive experience of CoC auditing around the world, including throughout the Americas, in Europe, and Indonesia. In this role, RFS has audited some 250 companies of all sizes, from a few employees to a few hundred, and from a wide range of industry sectors; from sawmills, pulp-mills, plywood manufacturers, and furniture or flooring plants, to paper merchants and printers, downstream.

This experience has enabled RFS to build a highly successful Consulting practice (completely independent of SGS) focused on the implementation of CoC control systems on behalf of clients, whether focused on conformance with FSC®, PEFC™, or SFI™ standards – or a combination of all three. RFS has expertise in PEFC Due Diligence Systems (DDS), as well as the FSC® Controlled Wood (CW) Standard, including conducting Controlled Wood Risk Assessments for the procurement of wood products around the globe. Any kind of CoC management system can be implemented, whether under the Transfer/Physical Separation, or Percentage/Credit systems, and incorporating any number of sites, whether as part of a multi-site certification or a group scheme.

Procuring FSC® Controlled Wood under a Risk Assessment, or setting up a DDS, can be particularly relevant to clients grappling with the complexities of compliance with the US Lacey Act, or the EU Timber Regulation. RFS furthermore possesses particular expertise in the evaluation of the Legality of supply chains, and the use of HCV Assessment as part of supply chain management (see related pages).