Salvaged Wood & Fiber Verification

Environmental and Legal Verification of Salvaged Wood & Fiber

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What is Salvaged Wood & Fiber Verification?

SCS offers independent verification to the Salvaged Wood and Fiber Standard to help recognize, evaluate, and certify good practices for salvaged wood and other plant-based material that would otherwise be wasted.

The standard is for companies that wish to sell forest or agricultural-based products that are traditionally neglected or discarded such as fire-killed wood, insect-killed wood, urban wood, orchard waste, aquatic salvage, and more. Verification can be used for recovered materials such as wooden beads, barndoors, driftwood, wheat, corn husks, rope, baskets, dried water hyacinth, and textiles. This allows organizations to objectively demonstrate that the salvaged products are following legal and responsible environmental practices.

Verification to this standard helps organizations meet consumer and stakeholder demand for transparency and accurate claims in the marketplace. It expands their ability to broaden the market for responsible materials that are otherwise wasted. This standard was developed by SCS to reduce pressures on natural forests and other sensitive environments while striving to meet ever-increasing human demands for wood and other plant-based products.

For verification, companies must adhere to the five principles of the standard, which include system maintenance to classify products, proper authorizations to conduct business, legal right to salvaged wood resources, compliance with local and national laws, and implementation of a quality system.

Why Choose SCS?

As experts in the sustainability sector, we have decades of experience across forestry, agricultural and environmental certifications. We aim to help businesses of all sizes to achieve certification for gaining a competitive edge within niche markets. Our clients trust in us to help them demonstrate claims for products and corporate sustainability efforts. We offer services and certifications for a range of social, environmental, and economic issues, such as SMETA, Fair Trade USA, responsible forestry, carbon neutral, recycled content and much more.

  • Program Details
  • Process
  • FAQs
  • Program Documents

Eligibility

The SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber verification is available to all companies that wish to make product claims with respect to the recovery of wood and other qualifying cellulosic biomaterial resources determined to have been abandoned (i.e., not used). Companies using salvaged wood or cellulose biomaterial resources from any of the following sources are eligible for this certification:

  • Post-consumer reclaimed material
  • Pre-consumer reclaimed material
  • Urban wood
  • Agricultural waste material
  • Aquatic Salvaged
  • Dead down wood
  • Fire-killed wood
  • Forestry Salvaged
  • Insect-killed wood
  • Orchard waste
  • Silvicultural waste material

  1. Apply for Certification

    Complete and submit the SCS Application form.

  2. Audit Proposal

    SCS will then evaluate the application and prepare a proposal for your approval with suggested scope of work, timeline, and quote. If you approve the proposal, you will sign a Work Order and the evaluation audit will be scheduled.

  3. On-Site Audit

    The assessment team conducts an on-site audit to determine if the applicant’s management system is being implemented in conformance with the SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber Standard. The auditor(s) will use each of the 5 Principles and related Criteria of the SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber Standard to evaluate conformance. A report is produced that details the results of the evaluation.

  4. Internal Review

    First, the assessment report is sent to the applicant for factual accuracy and/or comments. The assessment report is then submitted internally to another SCS staff member for technical review and to validate the appropriateness of the team’s analytical methodology and conclusions.

  5. Verification Decision

    The SCS verification committee reviews the assessment report and decides whether to approve certification. If granted, a certificate is issued for a five-year period, subject to annual surveillance audits. SCS can also provide client marketing support.

Why should I get Salvaged Wood Verified?

The Salvaged Wood standard was developed by SCS based on decades of expertise in wood product legality verification, forest management and chain of custody. It integrates key aspects of wood product legality requirements from around the world into one standard, so you can be assured that your company has the documentation and evidence needed to uphold the traceability, environment impact, and legality of your salvaged wood operations.

How do I know if I'm ready for Salvaged Wood Verification?

Salvaged Wood Verification is the best way to demonstrate your use of responsibly reclaimed wood and that it meets legal requirements. A preliminary assessment conducted by SCS, which can be a desk-based evaluation, is the best way to determine whether you are ready for a full verification evaluation.

My company is currently FSC-certified; do I need to be certified for SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber Standard?

You can achieve SCS Salvaged Wood verification in conjunction with FSC certification if any of your products meet one of the eligible product classifications of salvaged wood or other qualifying cellulosic biomaterial as outlined in SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber Standard, section 1. Achieving SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber verification will add value to your products and create better visibility, as well as help improve the corporate image of your organization.

What are the main differences between SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber Standard and FSC Reclaimed Materials Standard (FSC-STD-40-007)?

The FSC Reclaimed Materials Standard certifies products that originate from reclaimed forest-based inputs only. The SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber Standard, on the other hand, verifies products manufactured from all eligible un-utilized sources. These sources not only include the forest-based inputs but also agricultural and aquatic inputs that are not certifiable under the FSC system.

How long does the on-site audit take?

The length of the audit process depends on the complexity of the salvaged wood and fiber operations and the variety of sources used for procurement of input materials. Audit lengths can range from one day for simple operations, to several days for more complex operations. This will be discussed with the client shortly after an application is submitted.

Can I combine my FSC audit with SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber audit?

Absolutely. SCS offers joint audits for various certification programs to contain audit costs and increase efficiency.

Document Name Document
SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber Standard English

What are our clients saying?

“SCS Salvaged Wood verification helps communicate our company’s commitment to the environment. The SCS Salvaged Wood & Fiber Standard is the most reliable industry standard for verifying claims on recovered wood, and working with SCS on it means that we receive quality audits and superb customer service.”

Richard E. Davis - President of Wood Products International


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