Accreditation Services International (ASI) has suspended certification body Bureau Veritas from issuing FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) and Forest Management (FM) certificates worldwide.
The suspension came into effect last 19 October 2016 and it restricts Bureau Veritas’ ability to continue to offer and provide FSC accredited CoC and FM certification.
This suspension is a result of the company’s failure to resolve major non-conformities with FSC accreditation standards.
This suspension will be enforced for a maximum of six months during which period Bureau Veritas must demonstrate having closed all major nonconformities in order for the measure to be lifted. If the accreditation is not reinstated within that time frame, clients of Bureau Veritas will need to seek a new FSC-accredited certification body in order for their FSC certificate to remain valid.
During the period of the suspension, existing clients can keep obtaining certification services from Bureau Veritas. Only in the event that Bureau Veritas would not be able to close the major nonconformities, would their certificates need to be transferred to another FSC accredited certification body.
This action reinforces expectations that standards are continuously audited with the consistency that is expected by FSC and that accreditation body ASI oversees all certification bodies rigorously.
Bureau Veritas has issued 3,800 CoC certificates and 100 Forest Management FSC certificates in 63 countries worldwide.
