It is the first time since 2008 that FSC has increased the AAF, which is paid as part of annual FSC certification audits.
FSC said it hoped the changes, driven by increased demand for its services, would be well received by stakeholders. It needs to channel more funds into local market development, building capacity locally, regionally and internationally, as well as growing its focus on risk management in insecure markets.
The Timber Trade Federation (TTF), which has produced a breakdown on fee increases for members, said it understood that there would be concerns at the rate of the increase in the current tight trading conditions.
“We will be raising these concerns with FSC at the FSC UK AGM in a few weeks time, with a view to getting greater clarity on how members’ fees will be spent to promote and strengthen FSC in the UK,” said TTF head of sustainability Anand Punja.
The largest UK timber companies (£100-500m annual turnover) with multi-site chain of custody (CoC) certificates and which have processing operations will see their AAF rise by 34% to £2,930, while “traders” (FSC-certified companies who buy and sell certified products without making any changes to them) in the £5m-25m turnover and single site CoC certificate category will incur a 33% hike to £249.
Trader companies with a turnover of £1-5m and a single site CoC certificate l also face a 33% rise, to £125.
“We realise that the FSC system is undergoing a great deal of change at the moment, but all of these changes are designed to transition FSC into a more robust and responsive certification system that you can rely upon,” said FSC International director-general Kim Carstensen.
