Responsible Wood has published a Transition Policy for Chain of Custody certificate holders and certification bodies. The new standard supersedes AS 4707:2014 and is the Australian adoption of the PEFC International Chain of Custody Standard PEFC ST 2002:2020. Source: Timberbiz
Although there is nothing certificate holders need to do in the short-term, as the standard has a 10-month transition period, from 14 August 2022 audits will need to be against the requirements in the 2021 standard.
Certificates issued to AS 4707:2014 will be recognised in the Responsible Wood and PEFC systems until 14th August 2023. After this date, certificates to AS 4707:2014 cease to be recognised. To remain recognised, updated certificates listing AS4707:2021 in their scope must be in place from 15 August 2023.
For more information about the transition refer to the Responsible Wood Transition Policy for Australian Standard AS 4707:2021 – Chain of Custody for Forest and Tree Based Products now available for download from Responsible Wood.
In November, Responsible Wood CEO Simon Dorries and AS 4707 Standard Reference Committee Chair Peter Zed will be hosting a webinar introducing the new standard and its changes.
To find out more about the new standard, please refer to the Responsible Wood resources library where the new Standard and Transition Policy are available for download.
