SGS South Africa has suspended issuing new Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management certificates following an audit of its services.
FSC said SGS had made a “business decision to adopt an open-ended moratorium” after an accreditation audit by Accreditation Services International. The moratorium has been in force since May 29.
This does not affect chain of custody certificates, and SGS will continue to work with existing certificate holders and those looking for re-certification.
“SGS [has] indicated that it remains committed to FSC’s objectives and that it will use this time to systematically review the situation related to forest management certificates,” FSC said in a statement.
