The SmartStep program

Steps on the road to FSC certification

Through the SmartStep program, forest operations which are striving for FSC certification but are not ready yet may get recognition for the steps that they take towards certification. The purpose of the program is to verify if the operation is seriously working towards certification. The SmartStep program has been developed by the Rainforest Alliance, the world's largest FSC certifier and NEPCon's certification partner.

Benefits of SmartStep

By getting involved in the SmartStep program, your operation will become part of the rapidly growing family of Rainforest Alliance certified operations and enterprises throughout the world. Specific benefits are:  

• You will receive a “SmartStep Verification Statement” for public
  dissemination and use business to business.
• You can get letters of support and other private business-to-business communications written by SmartWood on a case-by-case basis that provide proof of SmartStep forest product companies’ commitments as they transition to full FSC certification and seek market share in the growing global marketplace for FSC certified products.
• The SmartStep verification includes an indepent, third-party Verification of Legal Origin (VLO) - a verification that the wood sold by you is legally harvested. As there is some demand for VLO in the market, this may imply an immediate benefit for you.
• After achieving SmartStep verification, you will have done part of the work necessary to obtain an FSC Controlled Wood certificate. With some effort on your part, you should be able to achieve controlled wood certification relatively fast. The market demands controlled wood, because the FSC does not allow wood from uncontrolled sources to be included in 'FSC-mixed' products.

the smart steps

The SmartStep Verification Statement is based on certain documents and milstones that your operation will set up. The main elements in this process are:

• A Gap Analysis is performed through an FSC pre-assessment or full assessment of the operation's forest management.
• Where gaps between FSC requirements and forest practices exist, the operation will develop a multi-year SmartStep Action Plan for attaining FSC certification, to be reviewed and approved by SmartWood.
• Based on the milestones and timelines set forth in the approved SmartStep Action Plan, and a written contract with mutual obligations, SmartWood will perform and publicly report on, at a minimum, annual on-site progress audits.
• Public reporting on the candidate operation's progress through SmartStep will include an annually updated “SmartStep Public Summary” and a “SmartWood Verification Statement” confirming that the operation is a SmartStep participant with clear milestones and timelines for attaining FSC/SmartWood certification.

requirements of participation

In order to be eligible for SmartStep verifiation, your operation has to meet certain requirements. Key requirements are:

• An FSC pre-assessment or full assessment shows that the operation is not ready for certification and that the process of adapting the forest management is likely to take more than one year.
• The operation is operating legally and the management is not in conflict with important social and biological interests.
• You agree to have your forest operation assessed by SmartWood auditors (NEPCon in case of Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Russia)