Whether or not this was the best CAB meeting is something that might still be open to debate, but by the closing evening, the unofficial consensus was that this  was one of the most positive and constructive CAB meetings yet.

An adequate venue offered by the GSI, and superb moderation work by Roger O’Connell set the stage for a great display of commitment, professionalism, respect and wit in the discussions during  the three main days of the event.

For ASI it was an excellent opportunity to inform CABs about the current status of its operations and the main topics likely to be of high interest to CABs. New Managing Director and vision, changes in the internal structure, changes in staff and roles, 2011 performance, 2012 planning, and improvements in the management of the accreditation process were some of the issues presented during ASI’s main session on Tuesday afternoon.  The full implementation of the Salesforce-based Accreditation Management System (AMS), which includes a user portal for CABs, was one of the improvements best received by the  attendees, and which is expected to further improve the communication with the clients (CABs).

For Robert Hrubes, senior vice-president at Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), the meeting improves “…all communications with ASI. It improves the working relationship. In particular this year it helped to understand the approach to audit planning. The AMS is also very important for the CABs to understand.”

FSC IC also had a very fruitful exchange with the CAB representatives. The FSC team came in to address key issues head on, and responded very professionally to the many questions and observations from the audience.  Upcoming EU Timber regulation, normative and policy updates, trademark issues, Policy of Association, conflict resolution system, and normative interpretation (calibration), were among the topics which drew most attention and energy from all parties.

“Lots of discussions boil down to auditor calibration. This applies for everybody” says Laura Terrall, Quality Assurance Manager for Rain Forest Alliance Cert Division, referring to the importance of aligning normative interpretation across the system. The CAB meeting proved to be a particularly good place for the parties to understand how the others view the same issues.

Overall, the positive attitude by the attendees this year reaffirmed the importance of such a meeting, and paves the way to a continued and improved collaboration, with the important goal of maintaining one of the most credible certification schemes out there. “Of course! Although we are competitors, it is good to meet the people and share the way in which we solve the problems.” said Corris van den Berg, global Chain-of-Custody Manager for SGS, when asked if he would recommend attending this kind of meeting in the future to other CABs.

With almost an entire year still ahead, everyone is now set to keep up the hard work and reap tangible benefits from the 2012 CAB meeting. For ASI, there are very high expectations to meet this year and with the current levels of confidence, energy and motivation, the accreditation body aims to meet and surpass those expectations.

Guntars Lagūns, Managing Director at ASI, noted that “Indeed, this was the best meeting in terms of collaboration between FSC, accredited CABs and ASI. I am very glad to see that despite all the challenges we face in our daily routines, everybody maintains such an incredibly positive attitude to address issues and seek the best possible solutions”. He added “my team and I are already looking forward to next year’s meeting.”

The 2013 carnival season will bring yet another chance to take the pulse of the system.

I believe that ASI is on the best grounds it has ever been. I am proud and delighted to be part of a team of such committed and professional people. At our staff retreat this month, this small model United Nations from more than ten nationalities and locations shone with its global insight and personal stories.

I am grateful to the previous ASI management, Sam Ponder and Carlos Ruiz-Garvia, for their efforts to build world-class systems to manage accreditation data and processes. With this foundation, we are best positioned to provide a consistently high level of service to our customers – and ensure assurance and trust in certification.

ASI starts into the year with two new accreditation programs – the Aquaculture Stewardship Council and the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil. With now four global programs, we are grateful for the trust our customers place in ASI as a global specialized accreditation body.

I am looking forward to working with all of you.

The MSC Chain of Custody System has been opened up to ensure traceability for products derived from ASC farms. The MSC Certification Requirements v.1.2 (link to MSC Document centre), released 10 January, contain an amendment (Annex BE), which details the minor differences between chain of custody assessments for products derived from MSC wild capture fisheries and ASC farms. Once certification bodies have demonstrated to ASI that differences in chain of custody certification of MSC and ASC products are understood and reflected in their operational procedures, they may conduct (combined) chain of custody assessments for both seafood product types. Several certification bodies have already sent their amended chain of custody procedures and checklist to ASI for review.

Due to the fast growth both in the number of certificates and the certified forest area, South East Asia and Latin America are of critical importance for the Forest Stewardship Council. Last year, ASI increased its presence in these regions – in 2012, ASI intends to sustain its vigilance.

All FSC accredited certification bodies operating in China, India, Vietnam and Chile will be sampled under the provisions of the FSC sampling procedure. This applies to both chain of custody and forest management certification.

Other hot spots on the sampling map for 2012 are Brazil, Bulgaria, USA, Russia, Australia and Spain – common examples for the success of the FSC certification scheme.

In addition to the 220 regular assessments planned for 2012, ASI intends to continue to take advantage of tools for enhanced control and flexibility, such as the compliance audits. This type of audit has proven to be very effective in dealing with situations on the ground which may not be foreseeable in the yearly planning and which provide ASI with the procedural resources to be able to respond swiftly to potential threats to the credibility of the system.

Furthermore, the development and implementation of new compliance control mechanisms, such as the (non witness) short notice assessments, will provide ASI will with more procedural tools than ever before, in order to effectively protect the integrity of the FSC certification scheme, wherever the issues may appear.

All upcoming assessment can be viewed on the ASI website.
For more information, please contact Uriel Barrantes, FSC Accreditation Program Officer.

Accreditation Services International (ASI) has run a pilot project with Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), working towards accreditation of its certification bodies in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.

Project leader Simon Armstrong reports: “We have evaluated the certification bodies through an office audit and through field witness assessments – actually going to see them doing audits in the palm oil plantations. We also undertook a review of the practical limitations of RSPO applying its standards in the field.

“The main feedback across the stakeholder network was an improved perception of credibility because of the work that ASI and RSPO has done together. There is now more of a sense of a level playing field which is a great benefit to certification bodies because it ensures they are competing evenly. This also means benefits for clients with a consistent performance level from certification bodies, and interpretation of certification requirements.”

As regular readers of this newsletter will be aware, palm oil is a major, global agricultural commodity with production currently dominated by Malaysia and Indonesia although there are growth forecasts involving countries around the Tropics. It’s used as a cooking oil, in a very wide range of processed foods and also in non-food products from biodiesel to cosmetics. Although it’s a very green source of oil in terms of its energy use per hectare – its popularity as a crop reflects a desire for economic development in some of the world’s poorer countries – palm oil is not without controversy. Contentious issues include deforestation and habitat loss for endangered species. Simon takes a balanced view.

“In Malaysia and Indonesia, the positive social impacts of production are clear to see,” he says. “If you drive through rural areas with no palm oil monoculture but high levels of biodiversity, then education opportunities, health care and the general economic outlook for local people are sorely limited. Conversely, in neighbouring areas where palm oil is produced – bringing jobs and infrastructure – the standard of living is markedly higher. This contrast throws a spotlight on the whole issue of land management and the need to balance truly sustainable agriculture with improved life prospects for local people.

“The work that ASI has done with RSPO balances economic and environmental issues, helping to set a workable standard for sustainable palm oil production in the face of market demand.” Simon also notes that the service that ASI has provided to RSPO represents a milestone in the development of ASI itself. “Where there is often intense stakeholder engagement, ASI has shown it can work locally, navigate these relationships and improve what’s happening on the ground,” he says. “We offer a considerable wealth of experience in strengthening certification standards at the sharp end, where complex social and environmental issues interact.”

“This growth does not only apply to the export market”, explains Alistair Monument, FSC Asia Pacific Director. “Green building is booming in China and in Japan, leading to further demand for FSC certified materials.” At the same time, consumer awareness of the FSC logo in Hong Kong has reached 29% in 2011 with many companies now using FSC paper and packaging for both export brands and also domestic use.

Of course, the current expansion comes with its own challenges. According to Alistair, many schemes have struggled to keep up the integrity in their certificates in places like China, Vietnam and India. Governments play a particularly important role and schemes need to work closely with the authorities to ensure an open and clear regulatory environment for certification schemes to operate effectively.

In the past years, Accreditation Services International has increased the intensity of assessments in these areas and encouraged additional training and awareness raising activities. In addition, the Forest Stewardship Council is moving to an online traceability platform to increase the integrity of supply chains.

Seafood certification schemes like the Marine Stewardship Council and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council have also made progress in Asia, with MSC having worked closely with ASI on supply chain integrity in China. “Once the ASC opens its doors for business, we expect a lot of interest from companies in Vietnam, Indonesia and other Asian countries”, explains Sönke Fischer, ASI Senior Accreditation Program Manager. A group of certification body auditors has already received training on the correct application of the ASC Tilapia and Pangasius farm standards.

Guntars Laguns has been working with ASI since 2004, initially as an assessor for the accreditation program of the Forest Stewardship Council. Since early 2011, he became responsible for the overall coordination of ASI’s assessment teams in the forestry sector. Before joining ASI, he worked as a forest manager and certification advisor across the Latvian forestry sector and led the WWF contribution to the development of the national FSC standards.

Andre de Freitas, FSC Director General and head of the recruitment committee, said: “I believe Guntars brings very good knowledge of issues on the ground to this position and I am confident that under his direction ASI will continue on its path to a stronger organization.”

The appointment brings a lengthy transition period to an end, after Sam Ponder, ASI’s Managing Director since 2009, relocated to Australia this summer.

Guntars Laguns added: “ASI is currently on really stable ground: The infrastructure for our services has improved significantly in the past years, and we have a good team. We’re in the best ever position to deliver credible accreditation for standards with an impact.”

Currently based in an outposted ASI office in Riga, Latvia, Guntars will relocate to Bonn in January.

Please join us in welcoming Mr Laguns in his new role.

In addition, ASI will periodically review the ongoing adequacy of our basal sampling rate, commencing in 2012 with an increased frequency of MSC Chain of Custody (CoC) witness assessments in China over a limited period. The sample size for CoC witness assessments is currently 1% of all CoC certificates, and will be increased to 5% during the period of enhanced sampling effort. At the end of this period the results will be analysed and used to determine whether ASI’s basal sample size requires revision. Additional accreditation costs incurred by certification bodies affected by this enhanced sampling program will be borne by the MSC.

More Information

• 2012 MSC Assessment Schedule
• ASI MSC sampling procedure

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