FSC Core Labour Requirements

With the new version of the standard FSC-STD-40-004 V3-1 Chain of Custody Certification, FSC has introduced new requirements for CoC certificate holders. These requirements apply to:

1. abolition of child labour,
2. elimination of all forms of forced labour,
3. elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation, and
4. respect for the freedom and right of workers to associate and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.

For new Core Labour Requirements, see version 3-1 of the Chain of Custody standard (PART I, Chapter 7).

The new Core Labour Requirements are mandatory for all FSC CoC holders from 1 September 2021. However, in order to facilitate the transition to the new version of the standard (V3-1), a transitional period until 31 December 2022 has been set for all new and existing certificate holders, during which they may or may not comply with the new requirements (during the transitional period certificate can also be issued according to V3-0 of the standard). At the end of the transitional period, the Core Labour Requirements are mandatory for all certificate holders.

By applying the FSC Core Labour Requirements to their business, organisations will need to:

1. adopt and implement Policy statement(s) covering FSC Core Labour Requirements; and
2. maintain an up-to-date Self-Assessment describing how they apply the FSC Core Labour Requirements to their business (templates available at the bottom of this page).

The Policy statement(s) is a simple and publicly available document that includes the FSC Core Labour Requirements. Many organisations already have statements or policies in place that cover the principles and practices set out in the FSC Core Labour Requirements, and such statements and policies implemented may be used to demonstrate compliance.

The Self-Assessment is the second mandatory document that an organisational must complete prior to the scheduled annual audit, in which it describes the application of the FSC Core Labour Requirements to its business. The certification body then uses Self-Assessment to guide the audit and verification (in the field) of compliance with the standard.