To achieve maximum benefit from your certification, it is important for your FSC products to be visible in the marketplace.
The FSC Certificate Database is a potentially powerful market linkage tool and FSC is now taking steps to improve the product search function.
Do you suspect that potential buyers have difficulties locating your products at the FSC database?
Maybe your product type is missing in the system, or should be defined in a different way in order to make sense for your buyers.
You may also have found it difficult to identify potential suppliers for your FSC-production or trade.
New draft product classification
To optimize its system, FSC is revising its product classification system and has prepared a draft new version including the following key changes:
- Definitions of all product types are included in the glossary
- The level at which product groups shall be defined. This may have significant impacts on certificate holders since the definition of a product group affects credit accounts, volume summaries, etc.
- Change from "product type" and "product classification" language of FSC-STD-40-004 to a "Level" system.
Your feedback is invited
To ensure an optimal result, FSC is calling for comments from all Certificate Holders. This public consultation is an important step in order to ensure that the new classification system reflects the reality on the marketplace. Now you have the chance to contribute to improving FSC’s product search system, and thereby make it easier for your buyers to find your products!
How to participate
To help FSC improve its classification system you only need to take a few simple steps:
1. Review the existing FSC Product Classification addendum and consider how your products fit in there: is the system using definitions and terms that are most commonly used your buyers?
2. Please use this comment form for submitting your comments.
3. In order to participate in the consultation, the filled-in form should be submitted to your certification service providers. NEPCon's clients should send this form to NEPCon's Chain of Custody key expert Roman Poljatsenko at supplychain@nepcon.org before 21 March 2011. Clients of the Rainforest Alliance should direct comments to their regional SmartWood representative.