Manufacturing
Timber and wood products: origin and treatment
Three separate sets of documentation people conflate: where it came from, how it was treated, and what it emits.
Timber carries three sets of documentation answering different questions, and conflating them is what makes a company believe it is covered when it is not. None replaces the other two.
The three, and what each answers
| Documentation | Answers | Who issues it |
|---|---|---|
| Origin and legality | Where this timber came from | Your supplier, with their chain backwards |
| Chain of custody | That certified material was not mixed with uncertified | The certification scheme, in your name |
| Packaging treatment | That the pallet or crate was treated for travel | Whoever made or treated it, with their mark |
| Board performance | Emissions, reaction to fire, intended use | The board manufacturer |
Important
The second row is the most misread. A chain of custody certification **does not say the timber came from a specific forest: it says you handle it without mixing it with uncertified material**. That is why it is yours, not your supplier's, and why buying from a certified supplier does not certify you.
The case that catches most companies
Watch out
Wooden export packaging carries its own treatment and mark, and **depends not on what you do with the product but on where it goes**. A company that has never touched timber can have a container held at destination because the pallets lacked the right mark. It is the classic first-shipment failure to certain countries, and it is avoided by asking the forwarder before loading, not after.
What to hold per supplier
If you process and sell
- 1
Your declaration is yours
What you say about the finished product is answered by you, not your supplier.
- 2
Keep traceability backwards
Which material consignment went into which outgoing order.
- 3
And physically separate certified stock
If it gets mixed in the warehouse, the chain of custody breaks even with the paperwork still in the file.
Worth knowing
Certification schemes, due diligence obligations on origin and packaging requirements vary by product and destination country, and they get updated. **Confirm what applies and with what scope with your adviser, the scheme or your forwarder**; this describes what documentation exists and which question each answers.
›Does my supplier's certificate count as mine?
No. Theirs evidences their chain; yours begins when the material enters your warehouse.
›What if I buy already-processed timber?
It still has an origin and obligations still attach to it: ask for it anyway.
›Do reused pallets count too?
If they travel abroad, yes: what matters is the pallet's mark, not how often it has been used.
A real case
The situation
A company buys from a certified supplier and advertises itself as certified.
What you do
- Checks that chain of custody is its own and not inherited
- Physically separates certified stock in the warehouse
What you get
Stops claiming something it could not support and prepares certification properly.
The situation
The origin is asserted by the supplier with no document.
What you do
- Requests the document that backs it
What you get
The claim stops being only a claim.
The situation
Consignments of different origins get mixed.
What you do
- Records what went into each production run
What you get
You can say what came from where.
The situation
A client asks for the origin of one specific supply.
What you do
- Checks that delivery's file
What you get
You answer per delivery.
The situation
The treatment certificate arrives later.
What you do
- Attaches it to the consignment on receipt
What you get
The certificate lives with what it covers.
The situation
The supplier changes origin and does not say so.
What you do
- Asks them to report any change
What you get
The change arrives before the question.
This article answers
- documentation for the timber we buy
- fsc pefc chain of custody
- pallet treatment for export
- board certificates and emissions