FSC and ASI Develop Training Manual to Strengthen Core Labour Requirements Implementation Across CoC Certification

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) International, in close collaboration with Assurance Services International (ASI), has developed new training materials on Core Labour Requirements (CLRs)—a key initiative aimed at enhancing auditor competence and ensuring consistent implementation of labour rights safeguards across the FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) system. These materials are now available to all accredited certification bodies (CBs) to support the training of their auditors in this important area of the FSC normative framework.

This work responds directly to the challenges identified following the introduction of CLRs in 2021, when the revision of FSC-STD-40-004 v3.1 came into effect. It introduced four fundamental labour principles into the CoC standard: No Child Labour (7.2), No Forced or Compulsory Labour (7.3), No Discrimination (7.4), and Freedom of Association and Effective Collective Bargaining (7.5). These requirements marked a significant shift by introducing a level of social auditing not traditionally embedded in FSC certification. Nearly two years into implementation, gaps in understanding and inconsistencies across regions have prompted this renewed focus on training and alignment.
more at: https://fsc.org/en/newscentre/general-news/fsc-and-asi-develop-training-manual-to-strengthen-core-labour-requirements