General Questions
The standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) ensure that forests are managed responsibly.
Responsibly managed forests:
- Provide us with clean air and clean water by restricting hazardous chemicals and following FSC harvesting and forestry practices that minimize degradation and erosion.
- Ensure a diversity of animals, trees and other plants as well as safe working conditions.
- Provide better jobs for the local community and respect the rights of local people.
Check out FSC US and this 2-min video by World Wildlife Fund to learn more about why forests matter.
American Green Consulting works alongside your CB; we don’t replace them. But AGC’s services make the overall certification process faster and easier for you. Plus, we offer you more one-on-one support, and we’re there whenever you have a question. We also offer training on an as-needed basis to ensure that you and your staff can navigate FSC requirements successfully.
Certificates are granted for five years, with annual visits to ensure compliance with standards. Your certificate expires on your five-year anniversary date, so make sure you renew it before it expires. If you’re enrolled in an AGC-managed certificate, our group manager oversees the five-year mark, so you don’t even need to worry about it!
At American Green Consulting, we believe that responsible forestry makes good business sense. By investing the time and effort to become FSC-certified, you’re showing your customers that you care about the future of the forests. Being able to verify that your products come from certified forests can open up new business channels with LEED-certified building contractors and larger clients who want to work with a vendor that supports environmental responsibility. And with an increasing consumer demand for better environmental practices, you’ll be on your way to gaining more business.
You can start using the FSC® logo, the letters FSC®, and the words Forest Stewardship Council® after you are certified. Remember that all three of these usages are protected trademarks, and you must be certified or have direct permission from the FSC to use them. For more information, click here.
Yes! Effective May 1, 2023, the FSC derogation allowing us to conduct desk reviews in lieu of on-site reviews for existing and new multi-site/group members during the COVID-19 pandemic has expired.
This means that American Green Consulting has resumed on-site auditing for all our clients.
EUDR (European Union Deforestation-free Regulation) is the new initiative in the EU to limit deforestation caused by worldwide forestry and agricultural activities, and the new regulation was adopted in May 2023.
American Green is developing a solution for a due diligence system, with an anticipated beta launch in September. Learn more and sign up for monthly updates on our EUDR page.
Group Certification Questions
No. Initial documentation and training is offered on an as-needed basis and is included in your annual fee.
No. This is also included in your annual fee.
At American Green Consulting, we mean it when we say “no hidden fees.” You will know exactly what you’re paying for when you sign your annual contract, and we are 100% upfront about any charges. No surprises!
Technically no, but functionally yes. Current FSC standards require us to cancel your individual certification number in order for you to become a member of the group certification.
If your business moves above $10 million in gross annual forest product sales, we check your sales again 12 months later. If still above, you have three (3) months to attain a single certificate or regain your individual certificate number through your previous CB. AGC helps you work with your CB through the entire process to attain this.
Group compliance is governed by the totality of its member oversight. If one member fails an audit, the entire group is not in danger. American Green Consulting closely manages our group members to make sure that everyone is upholding FSC requirements. If a member consistently fails to address problems we identify, that member is removed from the group. We keep in close contact with our group members and are always available if you have any questions.
If you’re a qualifying organization, you can join one of our existing group certificates. Each organization has chosen American Green Consulting to trust with their certificate management needs.
Learn more about each of our group certificates on our Group Certification page.
Controlled Wood Questions
We’re so glad you asked! Check out our Controlled Wood page to find the answers to these two burning questions.
Prior to 2018, anyone who purchased and sold any material that carried an “FSC Controlled Wood” claim had to have FSC-STD-40-005 (the Controlled Wood standard) in the scope of certification. With the release of the current CoC standard (FSC-STD-40-004v3-0), only companies that purchase material from a non certified supplier, and control that material via a risk assessment (national or company based), must have the CW standard in their scope of certification.
Certificate Holders (CHs) have six (6) months from the publishing of a national risk assessment to meet the requirements of that assessment. The FSC-US NRA was published on April 5, 2019, therefore, all companies that are utilizing a risk assessment in the U.S. must be in compliance prior to October 5, 2019.
No. (Note: FSC has provided a transition period before all CHs must use an approved NRA.)
With that said, the FSC-US national risk assessment covers only the contiguous 48 states, so if you are sourcing from Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico, you must still use a company-based risk assessment for those areas.
You may find a list of all worldwide national risk assessments here. Search by “type,” “controlled wood risk assessments.”
The FSC Canada National Risk Assessment has been released. Contact us if you need assistance.
Yes, we can! The FSC-US NRA has been released and American Green is hard at work developing, and helping our clients implement, control measures for areas of specified risk, across the entire breadth of size, scope, and complexity of your forest operations.
Whether you pulled a single tractor trailer of logs from the Florida panhandle, or you have logging operations across the entirety of Appalachia and the Pacific Northwest, we can work with you to ensure you get the right mix of mitigation actions in place, and on time.
We are experts in consulting for risk mitigation and can help guide you through the process. Contact us today to get started.
Absolutely. We have a Controlled Wood Kit that provides you with all the material you need to create and document all processes and requirements of the Controlled Wood standard, from start to finish. We also can consult on your existing procedures and documents, helping only where you need assistance.
Log into AGC’s Controlled Wood Portal here. If you need to create a login, contact us to get started.
Training Portal Questions
Our Training Portal is a simple and fun way for all AGC clients to quickly and efficiently meet FSC® training requirements while learning about FSC-required processes.
Whether you want to watch a few minutes each week or storm through them all at once, you have the freedom to watch and learn on your own schedule. (And then print a certificate of completion!)
Log into AGC’s Training Portal here. If you need to create a login, contact us to get started.
No, it’s not currently a requirement. The Training Portal is simply an additional method to obtain training.
If you’re already doing training internally, and there are no issues with your audits, then you can keep doing what you’re doing. Having said that, we anticipate that you’ll find the information available in the Training Portal exceptionally helpful. And this is just phase one!
Yes, the Training Portal will be replacing the formal 60-90-minute training calls our team has offered to members. If you’ve been using an annual call with us as your training, you’ll want to transition to the Training Portal.
Absolutely! Feel free to reach out to us as anytime with any questions you have. You can email us at [email protected] or call us at (888) 662-8854.