Our LegalSource standard for certifying due diligence is now entering its final stages of development. NEPCon invites feedback from stakeholders in a final round of public consultation.
Our LegalSource standard for certifying due diligence is now entering its final stages of development. NEPCon invites feedback from stakeholders in a final round of public consultation.
Public consultation on the second draft of NEPCon's LegalSource Standard is taking place during the period 4 October until 4 December 2012.
Based on industry pilot testing, stakeholder feedback, and close collaboration with European industries, the standard has been amended and a fully-fledged concept for due diligence has been developed.
"Our LegalSource Standard for certifying due diligence has been developed based on experience gained from working with industry organisations and other stakeholders. We are very grateful for all the inputs we have received helping us to develop a robust and operational solution for companies seeking to ensure the legal origin of timber products," says Forest Legality Programme Manager Christian Sloth.
The LegalSource Standard builds on NEPCon's due diligence concept and is an essential part of our LegalSource Programme.
It offers forest product traders, processors and forest managers the opportunity to receive third party certification confirming that they exercise due care to exclude illegally harvested forest products from their supply chains.
Companies audited by NEPCon and found in compliance with the standard can be issued a LegalSource certificate and sell products covered by the scope of the certificate as 'LegalSource Certified'.
The standard is equally applicable to companies operating in regulated markets such as the EU, the US and Australia, as to suppliers based in other regions of the world.
Several revisions have been made to the standard (see below). Most changes have been done in order to enhance the clarity and usability of the standard. We are now asking stakeholders for feedback on the second draft of this standard.
> Download the second draft of the LegalSource Standard
The standard is based on the stringent approach to due diligence taken by NEPCon. Based on our analysis of current legal and business requirements in key global markets, we have outlined the key aspects of the concept and the process of exercising due diligence according to our standard in a concept note that you are also very welcome to comment on.
Download Due Diligence concept note
How to join the consultation
You can participate in this consultation in three ways:
1. Put your comments down in a file or add comments directly in the draft standard, and submit your feedback to NEPCon's Legality Programme Manager Christian Sloth at cs@nepcon.org.
2. You can also call Christian (+ 45 31 58 79 81), if you wish to convey your comments verbally or to discuss or clarify some points.
3. Or you can submit your comments using this online survey.
The consultation ends 4 December 2012 at noon CET.
Overview of changes
- The standard now includes a clear definition of "applicable legislation" that shall be used during risk assessment and risk mitigation.
- A glossary, explaining key terms applied in the standard text, has been added.
- The standard includes instructions under many of the requirements, clarifying the intent.
- The quality system requirements have been expanded on to ensure that all relevant standard requirements are implemented correctly.
- The standard structure has been revised to make room for additional requirements.
- The requirements for accessing information about products, sources and suppliers have been developed to clarify the application of these requirements.
- The requirements for risk assessment have been developed to better distinguish between risks at different levels of a supply chain and to make it clear when risks should be further specified.
- Risk mitigation requirements have been developed and clarified, and three annexes now outline clear requirements for risk mitigation verification audits in the forest of harvesting and/or of suppliers.
- Annex five has been addded and includes requirements for certification schemes that can be recognised as compliant with the LegalSource standard.
NEPCon and the ISEAL Guidelines
NEPCon embraces a transparent and multi-stakeholder based approach to maintaining the highest level of stakeholder consensus to ensure high quality of our standards and procedures. As a subscriber the ISEAL Alliance, the leading association for sustainability standards, we have taken best effort to ensure that the development of the LegalSource standard follows the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards. This includes the following requirements for public consultation:
- Two rounds of consultation (if required)
- Each round shall include a period of at least 60 days for the submission of comments.
- A second round of comment submissions is only necessary when unresolved issues persist after the first round. One round of comments is sufficient where there are no objections raised or substantial comments received in that round.