Metsä Group’s management systems are audited all year long, both internally and externally. Metsä Group’s business area sites mainly operate under common certificates called ‘multi-site certificates’. Multi-site certification requires centralised management and regular internal audits, reducing the number of external audits. With the revised standards, the importance of internal training is increasingly emphasised. This year, new requirements have emerged for ISO and FSC® systems, and updates concerning PEFC are expected to be published next year.
The role of leadership is emphasised in quality and environmental management
The revised international quality and environmental management standards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 were introduced this year. Many of the new requirements are already implemented in management practices, such as risk assessments included in long-term planning process. In general, the standards increasingly emphasise the role of leadership, stakeholder engagement and communication, and the identification of risks and opportunities.
FSC enables the sharing of credits of certified wood
The FSC Chain of Custody standard has been updated. This time, changes bring more flexibility by enabling the sharing of FSC credits and percentages between sites. Credits can be shared within a multi-site certificate provided that all sites operate under the same certification and ownership, and are located in the same country or within eurozone. The cross-site sharing option allows companies to make a more efficient use of their FSC certified credits and creates possibilities for better logistical solutions, especially when the validity period of credits will be extended from 12 months to 24 months.
The FSC Controlled Wood standard imposes stricter requirements
The FSC Controlled Wood standard has also been updated and shall be introduced by the end of this year. In the context of wood procurement, the updated standard is clearly more demanding, especially with respect to the mixing of wood, and requires a stronger commitment to risk management. Consequently, wood traceability and wood supplier audits are increasingly important when operating in the areas identified in FSC risk assessments. Due to the strict requirements of the new standard, the ongoing risk assessment processes, carried out in the entire Metsä Group’s supply area, are fundamental. The implementation of the Controlled Wood standard is no longer required if the company only uses FSC-certified or controlled wood. Therefore, production units which only use wood supplied by Metsä Forest can report their FSC shares based on their Chain of Custody certification.
FSC Licence Code FSC-C014476