Document 2
Operation Rules of Forest Management Certification and Forest Products Chain of
Custody Certification by Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC)
Contents
Chapter 1:
Chapter 2:
Chapter 3:
Chapter 4:
Chapter 5:
Chapter 6:
Chapter 7:

General Rules
Certification Principles, Indicators and Guidelines
Forest Management Certification
Certified Products and Chain of Custody
Certification body
Certification Management Committee
Complaints and Correction Measures

Attachments
Attachment 2-1:
SGEC logos and labels
Attachment 2-2:
Regulations of the use of SGEC logos and labels
Attachment 2-2-1-1: Issuance of the SGEC Logo usage license
Attachment 2-2-1-2: Issuance of PEFC Logo usage license
Attachment 2-2-2:
SGEC Information Register
Attachment 2-4:
Attachment 2-4-1:

Requirement for group forest management certificate
Revised requirements for ‘annual internal auditing program’
stipulated in ‘3-1 General’ under ‘3. Functions andresponsibilities of the group entity and participants’ of‘Attachment 2-4: Requirement for group forest management
certificate’
Attachment 2-8:
Requirement for Multisite CoC organization
Attachment 2-10:
Requirements for Certification Bodies operating
certification under SGEC certification scheme
Attachment 2-10-1-1: Requirements for Accreditation of SGEC Certification
Body
Attachment 2-10-1-2: Requirements for Notification of SGEC Certification Body

Attachment 2-10-2：Multi-site chain of custody certification
Attachment 2-10-3:
Attachment 2-11:

Requirements of qualification for personnel of evaluation
team
Requirements for Operational Rules of SGEC1

Attachment 2-11-1:
Attachment 2-12:
Attachment 2-13:
Attachment 2-13-1:

Procedures for dealing with complaints and disputes against
SGEC scheme
Standard Setting – Requirements
Certification and Accreditation Procedures
Educational programs related to certification standards andauditing training and experiences

Attachment2-13-2 ： SGEC Notification of Certification Bodies operating
Certification of SGEC and/or PEFC

Chapter 1: General Rules
Article 1 (General Rules):Operational rules of forest management certification and forest products chain of custodycertification by Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC) stipulated in Article 3, Section
2(1) in the Statutes shall be provided herein.
Article 2 (SGEC logo):
Section 1:
SGEC shall decide its logos and labels as in the attachment.
Section 2:
Valid certificate holders, who meet the requirements stipulated separately,
can use the SGEC logos and labels.

Chapter 2: Certification Principles, Indicators and Guidelines
Article 3 (Certification Principles, Indicators and Guidelines)
Section 1:
When the certification principles, indicators and guidelines are formulated
or amended, prior to the resolutions of the Board of Directors stipulated in Chapter 5 in
the Statutes, the President stipulated in Article 24, Section 2 in the Statutes shall conduct
the following procedures in the context of fairness, equity and openness. Such
Principles, Indicators and Guidelines shall be reviewed at intervals that do not exceed afive-year period.
(1) Councilors Committee stipulated in Chapter 9 in the Statutes shall be convened forhearing their opinions(2) Hearing from a wide range of stakeholders(3) Hearing from various fields and groups through putting the draft documents in public
hearing procedures with a certain duration stipulated by the Board of Directors

2Section 2:
When the President conducts the procedures in the preceding section, themeasures in regard to the opinions shall be reported to the Board of Directors and theGeneral Meeting of Members.

Chapter 3: Forest Management Certification
Article 4 (Forest Management Certificate)
Section 1:
The certification bodies stipulated in Chapter 5 of these operational rules
shall produce the forest management certificate evaluation report when the certificate
bodies conduct the forest management certificate evaluation based upon the certification
principles, indicators and guidelines.
Section 2:
In case of the application will meet the requirement under the certification
principles, indicators and guidelines, the certification bodies shall issue the certificate
document to the applicant and report to the SGEC.
Section 3:
Upon the report in the preceding section, the SGEC shall make thenotification of the forest management certificate concerned.
Section 4:
The forest owners/managers, who have the forest management certificate
issued in Section 2 above, are not requested to get the chain of custody certificate in caseof production and sale of the certified products within the forest concerned as stipulated
in Section 1 in Article 13 of these operational rules.
Article 5 (Types of Forest Management Certificate)
Section 1: Based upon the size and status of forest management, the forest
management certificate shall be conducted by the following categories:(1) Individual certification
Individual certification shall be the forest management certificate in the certified areaby a single forest owner/manager.
(2) Group certification
Group certification shall be the forest management certificate in the certified area by
a number of forest owners/managers under one certificate. The requirements forgroup certification shall be stipulated separately.
Article 6 (Term of validity of the FM certificate and its renewal)
Section 1: The certificate document in Section 2, Article 4 and the notification
concerned in Section 3, Article 4 of these operation rules shall remain effective for five
years. Those forest owners/managers wish to renew those certificate shall apply the3renewal evaluation. Since the term of validity of the forest management certification
shall be fixed one, the term of validity of the area additionally certified shall remainsame as the area initially certified.
Section 2:

The renewal procedures shall be same as Article 4 of these operation rules.

Article 7 (Regular evaluation)
Section 1: The forest owners/managers shall have an annual regular evaluation on thestatus of the certified forest management by the certification body which issues thecertificate. If the forest owners/managers ask other certification body for regular
evaluation, new forest management certificate in Article 4 of these operation rules shallbe issued by the certification body who will conduct a regular evaluation.
Section 2:
SGEC.

The certification body shall report the result of regular evaluation to the

Article 8 (Cancellation of Forest Management Certificate)
Section 1: The certification body shall cancel the forest management certificate incase of the following evidences have been confirmed:(1) Corrective measures, in Section 1of Article 4, Section 1 of Article 6 or the precedingarticle, are not taken(2) Serious violation against these operational rules are confirmed(3) Considerable divergence from other forest management principles are foundSection 2: In case of cancellation of forest management certificate, the certificationbody concerned shall inform it to the forest owner/manager as well as report to the
SGEC.
Section 3: Once the SGEC receive the report in the preceding section, the SGEC shalldelete the notification of the forest management certificate concerned. In this case,registration fee for the notification of the forest management certificate in Article 9 andlicense fee for the usage of logos for the sale of certified products in Section 4 of Article
4 of these operational rules shall not be refunded.
Article 9 (Registration Fee for the Notification of the Forest Management Certificate)
Section 1: The forest owner/manager, when notified based on Section 3 of Article 4
and Section 2 of Article 6, shall pay the registration fee, which is stipulated separately inthe attachment.
Chapter 4: Certified Products and Chain of Custody4Article 10 (Certified Products)
Section 1: The certified products shall be the products, which are produced from thecertified forest, under the category in Article 13, treated by the CoC organization in
Article 11 and labeled by the SGEC logos in Section 1 of Article 2 throughout the wholeprocess of production, processing and trading.
Article 11 (Chain of Custody Certification)
Section 1: The certification bodies shall produce the chain of custody certificate
evaluation report when the certificate bodies conduct the CoC certificate evaluation
based upon the certification principles, indicators and guidelines.
Section 2:
In case of the application will meet the requirement under the certification
principles, indicators and guidelines, the certification bodies shall issue the certificate
document to the applicant and report to the SGEC.
Section 3:
Upon the report in the preceding section, the SGEC shall make thenotification of the forest management certificate concerned.
Article 12 (Term of validity of the CoC certificate and its renewal)
Section 1: The certificate document in Section 2, Article 11 and the notification
concerned in Section 3, Article 11 of these operation rules shall remain effective for five
years. Those CoC organizations wish to renew those certificates shall apply therenewal evaluation. Since the term of validity of the integrated CoC certification in
Section 3, Article 13 shall be fixed one, the term of validity of the CoC organization
additionally certified shall remain same as the integrated CoC organization initiallycertified.
Section 2:
rules.

The renewal procedures shall be same as Article 11 of these operation

Article 13 (Category of business certified in the CoC organization and its certification)
Section 1: Category of business certified in the CoC organization shall be the wholecategory related to harvest, processing, trade and construction of products produced fromthe certified forest.
Section 2: The CoC organization can acquire CoC certificate at the same time in a
multiple categories in the preceding section.
Section 3: Organized group of the organizations, who are the CoC organizations
dealing one or multiple categories in Section 1, can acquire CoC certificate as anmultisite CoC organization.

5

Article 14 (Regular evaluation)
Section 1: The CoC organizations shall have an annual regular evaluation on thestatus of the certified products by the certification body which issues the certificate. If
the CoC organizations ask other certification body for regular evaluation, new CoC
certificate in Article 11 of these operation rules shall be issued by the certification body
who will conduct a regular evaluation.
Section 2:
SGEC.

The certification body shall report the result of regular evaluation to the

Article 15 (Suspension of handling CoC certified products)
Section 1: In case that the CoC organization intend to suspend its handling of the
CoC certified products, the CoC organization can offer it to the certification body whichissues the certificate.
Section 2: The certification body concerned, upon the offer, can conduct its
evaluation in documents through the regular evaluation in the preceding article.
Section 3: In case that the CoC organization in the preceding section intend to extend
its suspension by another one year, the certified body can admit to do so. In this case,the certification body concerned shall cancel the CoC certificate of the CoC organization
concerned and report to the SGEC. Upon receiving the report, the SGEC shall delete
the notification of the CoC certificate concerned.
Section 4: In case that the CoC organization in the preceding section, aftertermination of suspension period concerned, intend to resume to handle the CoC certified
products, the certification body, after conducting regular evaluation, can remove thesuspension of the CoC certificate of the CoC organization within the term of validity ofsuch certificate in Section 1, Article 12.
Section 5: In case that the measures in the preceding section have taken, thecertification body shall report it to the SGEC. The SGEC shall make the notification of
the CoC certificate concerned again.
Article 16 (Cancellation of CoC Certificate)
Section 1: The certification body shall cancel the CoC certificate of the CoC
organization in case of the following evidences have been confirmed:(1) Corrective measures, in Article 11, Article 12 or Article 14, are not taken(2) Serious violation against these operational rules are confirmed(3) Anti-social evidences are found in certified products(4) Considerable divergence from other CoC principles are foundSection 2:

In case of cancellation of the CoC certificate, the certification body6

concerned shall inform it to the CoC organization as well as report to the SGEC.
Section 3: Once the SGEC receive the report in the preceding section, the SGEC shalldelete the notification of the CoC certificate concerned. In this case, registration fee forthe notification of the CoC certificate and license fee for the usage of logos for the saleof certified products in Article 17 of these operational rules shall not be refunded.
Article 17 (Registration Fee for the Notification of the CoC Certificate )Section 1: Registration fee for notification of CoC organization stipulated in Section
3 of Article 11and Section 2 of Article 12 is determined separately in the attachment.
Chapter 5: Certification body
Article 18 (Type of Certification Body)
Section 1: The certification bodies are classified into the organization which conducts
forest management certification, the organization which conducts chain of custodycertification and the organization which conducts both categories.
Article 19 (Requirements of Notification for Certification Body)
Section 1:
The SGEC shall notify a certification body, upon the request, which shallsatisfy both the following requirements and the requirements stipulated in section 2 ofthis article:
Notwithstanding the above, as for a PEFC certification body, requirements for
notification are those stipulated in PEFC ST 2003:2012 and its Annex 1.
(1) An organization which has been accredited as being in conformity with theinternational standard for the product certification body (ISO/IEC 17065) by anaccreditation body that is a signatory of the Multilateral Recognition Arrangement(MLA) of International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
(2) The scope of the accreditation shall cover the SGEC Forest Management
Certification Standard (SGEC Document 3), SGEC CoC Standard (SGEC Document
4) and related Attachments.
(3) An organization registered as a corporation in Japan
Details of requirements for accreditation of certification bodies are determined separately
in the attachment.
Section 2: In addition to the requirement in the preceding section, the certification bodyshall satisfy the following requirement:(1) Certification body for forest management certification
7a） Ample knowledge and technical skills of forest management as well as
economic, social and natural environmentb） Technical skills for properly applying the principles and requirements of SGEC
forest management certificationc） Knowledge on rules and regulations related to forest and forestry(2) Certification body for CoC certificationa） Ample knowledge of forest management and harvest, processing, trade andconstruction of products produced.
b） Management skills for applying the principles and requirements of SGEC CoC
certification in production, processing and trade sitesc） Knowledge on rules and regulations related to forest products(3) Certification body shall have ample knowledge of the PEFC Council’s scheme
necessary for SGEC certification activities endorsed and/or mutually recognized by
PEFC.
Article 20 (Application for Notification)
Section 1: Those applying for the notification for certification body shall submit theapplication with the following items to the SGEC:(1) Name and address of organization and representative(2) Outline of the structure and activities of the organization(3) Structure of audit and evaluation(4) Qualification of auditors and these holding status(5) Requirements in the preceding article
Section 2: The following documents shall be attached with the application in thepreceding section.
(1) Statutes of the organization(2) Certificate by accreditation body(3) Recent accounting documents(4) Recent business plans and balance sheets(5) Others
Section 3: When the SGEC receives the application in section 1, the approved
organization shall be put for the notification based on the decision of the Board of
Directors. Details of requirements for notification of certification bodies are determined
separately in the attachment.
Article 21 (Renewal of Notification)

8Section 1: The validity of the notification in the preceding article shall remain during
the valid period of its accreditation. Details are provided separately in the attachment.
Section 2: The procedures for renewal shall be same as in the preceding article.
Article 22 (Fee for Notification of Certification Body)
Section 1: The certification body put in the notification in Section 3, Article 20 shall
pay the fee of certification body notification, stipulated separately, to the SGEC.
Article 23 (Withdrawal of Notification of Certification body)
Section 1: Once a certification body does not meet requirement of Article 21, theSGEC shall terminate or suspend the notification of the certification body concerned.
Details are provided separately in the attachment.

Chapter 6: Certification Management Committee and Expert Committee
Article 24 (Certification Management Committee)
Section 1: For studying and discussing the status of management of certification
system, the President, upon the approval of the Board of Directors, shall establish
Certification Management Committee.
Section 2: The Certification Management Committee shall study and discuss thematters in the preceding section, and shall present their opinions to the President.
Section 3: The Committee members shall be appointed among intellectual or academic
experts, upon the approval of the Board of Directors, by the President.
Section 4: The number of the Committee members shall be minimum of three andmaximum of seven and term of the members shall be two years. One of the members
shall be the Chairperson and another one shall serve as a deputy chairperson.
Section 5: The Certification Management Committee shall present their opinions to the
President in writing with the following items:(1) Date and venue of the meeting of the Certification Management Committee(2) List of the members participated in the meeting(3) Content of opinions
Article 25 (Expert Committee)
Section 1: For studying the special items related to management of certification
system, the President shall establish the Expert Committee.

9Section 2: The Expert Committee, upon consultations from the President, shall present
their opinions.
Section 3: The members of the Expert Committee shall be appointed from a widegroup of related stakeholders including intelectural and adademic experts. Details of thenomination are stipulated in other document(s).

Chapter 7: Complaints and Correction Measures
Article 26 (Complaints)
Section 1: Those who have received disadvantages from SGEC certification system
can claim their complaints to the SGEC.
Article 27 (Correction Measures)
Section 1: Auditors stipulated in Article 24 of the Statutes shall receive the opinions of
the Board of Directors, draft the correction measures, then notify the President to ensurethat any appropriate corrective measures are taken.
Section 2: Once notification in the preceding section is made, the President shall notify
the complainant about the corrective measures.
Section 3: Once the measures in the preceding section are taken, the President shallreport it to the Board of Directors, Auditors as well as General Meeting of Members.
Supplementary article 1
This Operational Rules shall be come into force on the date decided by the Board of
Directors not exceeding six months after the date decided by the General Meeting ofMembers on 14th December 2011 which is the inception of the SGEC as stipulated underthe Act on General Incorporated Associations and General Incorporated Foundations.
However, up until this Operational Rules come into force, the former operational rules
and guidelines of SGEC shall remain effective. In this connection, validity of therelevant certificates and/or registration shall also remain effective as stipulated in theformer operational rules and guidelines of SGEC up until this Operational Rules hascome into force.
Supplementary article 2
The Board of Directors, on 14th December 2011, has decided that this Operational Rules
shall be come into force on 1st April 2012.

10

Supplementary article 3
The Board of Directors, on 29th May 2012, has decided to amend this Operational Rules.
Supplementary article 4
The Board of Directors, on 25th December 2013, has decided to amend this Operational
Rules.
Supplementary article 5
The Board of Directors, on 28th March 2014, has decided to amend this Operational
Rules.
Supplementary article 6
Special measures on Regular evaluation stipulated in Article 7 and 14 based upon theamendment of Operational Rules during transitional period toward endorsement andmutual recognition by PEFC:
If the forest owners/managers, who have the forest management certificate issued in
Article 4, ask other certification body for regular evaluation in Article 7, a newforest management certificate in Article 4 stipulated in Article 7 is not required to
be issued in case that other certification body who conducts regular evaluation will
receive relevant information under the requirements guided by Article 6.2.2
External resources (outsourcing) of the ISO/IEC 17065.
If the CoC organizations, who have the CoC certificate issued in Article 11, ask
other certification body for regular evaluation in Article 14, a new CoC certificate
in Article 11 stipulated in Article 14 is not required to be issued in case that othercertification body who conducts regular evaluation will receive relevant information
under the requirements guided by Article 6.2.2 External resources (outsourcing) of
the ISO/IEC 17065.
Supplementary article 7
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Operational Rules on 1 April 2015.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Operational Rules may be effective
during transitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC. However,
the relevant rules related to the standard settings for regular or renewal review for FM
certification in Document 3 and CoC certification in Document 4 may be effective up
until 30 September 2015.
Supplementary article 811This document (amended on December 10, 2015) will be effective from 1st January 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisitionof PEFC Endorsement as transit period, during which the previous document (whichbecame effective on 1st April 2015) maintains its validity.
Supplementary article 9This document (amended on February 10, 2016) will be effective from 1st April 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisitionof PEFC Endorsement as transit period, during which the previous document (whichbecame effective on 1st April 2015) maintains its validity.

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Attachment 2-1:
SGEC logos and labels
The attachment stipulated under the Article 2, Section 1 of the Operational Rules of Forest
Management Certification and Forest Products Chain of Custody Certification by SGEC shallbe provided herein.
The SGEC logos shall be consistent in color and design in line with the objectives of the
SGEC aiming to develop a rich society based on a material cycle system and to contribute toconserve greenery rich natural environment through widely disseminating the concept ofsustainable forest management.
The SGEC logos and labels shall be used in accordance with the Guidelines for SGEC CoC
Certification and the Regulations of the use of SGEC logos and labels.
The SGEC logos and labels are copyrighted materials and are registered trademarks owned by
the SGEC.
The Basic design of the SGEC logo

Color designated:

Pantone 328
13

Color designated (in case of the use of four colors): CM
YK= 100%
=
0%
= 47%
= 30%

P.S. Black color is designated in case of the use of one color.

The secondary designs derived from the SGEC logo
The secondary designs derived from the SGEC logo shall be in line with the following
formats.
In case of the use of the other designs stipulated herein, the valid certificate holders shallsubmit such designs to the SGEC and shall be got the permission in advance.
The font of the characters in the logos shall be “新ゴM”(“HG－丸ゴシックM－PRO”
can be used in case of small numbers printing by PCs).

Sustainable

Green

Ecosystem

Sustainable Green Ecosystem

The following alternative phrases can be used instead of the secondary designs above.
① This logo is a registered trademark owned by the SGEC.
② Sustainable Green Ecosystem③ Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council
Supplementary article
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2012.
14

CouncilAttachment 2-2:
Regulations of the use of SGEC logos and labels
Contents:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Scope
Terms and definitions
Coverage of the SGEC Logo
Ownership and SGEC Logo usage rights

5.

1. SGEC Logo ownership
2. SGEC Logo usage rights
SGEC Logo users classification

6.

5-1 Forest owners and managers
5-2 Forest products related industries
5-3 Other users
SGEC Logo usage
6-1 General requirements
6-2 On-product usage
6-2-1 Eligibility requirements for on-product usage
6-2-2 Basic structure of SGEC labels
6-2-3 Specific requirements for SGEC labels
6-2-3-1 SGEC label description items
6-2-3-2 SGEC label display method
6-2-4 Exceptional usage of SGEC label
6-3 Off-product usage
6-3-1 Coverage of off-product usage
6-3-2 General requirements for off-product usage

15

Attachment 2-2-1:
Issuance of the SGEC Logo usage license
Preface:
The SGEC logo/label provides accurate and verifiable information relating to the origin offorest based product in sustainably managed forest and other environmental sound noncontroversial sources. Through such information dissemination, it aims that citizens andconsumers are encouraged to purchase the products from sustainably managed forests andenvironmentally friendly products selectively, thus encouraged its demand and supply willcontribute to enhancing market-driven sustainable use of forest good and services.
1. Scope
The detailed regulations of the use of SGEC logos and labels stipulated in Article 2,
Section 2 of the Operational Rules of Forest Management Certification and Forest
Products Chain of Custody Certification by SGEC shall be provided herein. The basic
design of the SGEC logo shall be provided in the Attachment 2-1 stipulated in Article 2,
Section 1 of the same document.
Any inquiry on the SGEC, the Japanese language version is the official document for thematters linked to the SGEC system and the English language version is the official
document for the matters linked to the PEFC.
2. Terms and definitions
2-1 On-product usage
On-product usage is the use of the SGEC Logo in connection with or referring to
the SGEC certified products. This includes:a) the use directly on tangible products themselves (unpackaged products), products
in individual packaging, containers, wrapping, etc. or on large boxes, crates, etc.
used for transportation of products;b) the use on documentation associated to the products (e.g. invoice, packaging list,
advertisement, brochure, etc.) where the use of the SGEC Logo refers to theparticular products.
Note: Any usage which can be received or understood by buyers or the public asreferring to a specific product and/or origin of raw material included in the product isconsidered as on-product usage.
2-2 Off-product usage
Off-product usage is the use other than on-product usage which is not referring to a
specific product and the origin of raw material in the SGEC certified forests.

16

Printed document for dissemination use may be under this category.
3. Coverage of the SGEC Logo
3-1 The SGEC Logo and related claims only concern the origin of forest based raw
material used in the SGEC labelled products.
Note: The origin of forest based raw material covered by the SGEC claims is definedas sustainably managed forest for SGEC certified raw material, non-controversial
sources for other than certified raw material and post-consumer recycled raw
material.
3-2 The structure and general requirement of the SGEC logo shall be provided in the
Attachment 2-1.
3-3 The SGEC logo for recycled raw material is not provided for the time being.
4. Ownership and SGEC Logo usage rights
4-1 SGEC Logo ownership
The SGEC Logo is copyrighted material and is a registered trademark owned by the
SGEC.
4-2 SGEC Logo usage rights
4-2-1 On-product usage
The valid certificate holders stipulated in Article 2, Section 2 of the
Operational Rules of Forest Management Certification and Forest Products
Chain of Custody Certification by SGEC (abbreviated as “the valid
certificate holders”) can use the SGEC logo on the certified products treatedby the valid certificate holders. In case of the use of the SGEC logo, a
SGEC Logo usage license shall be issued by the SGEC.
4-2-2 Off-product usage
When the third party, who is willing to support the objectives stipulated in
Article 3 of the Statutes but does not have the valid certificate, intends to use
the logo as off-product usage, the third party shall submit the application
form of the use of the SGEC logo, which specifies the purpose, the method
and others, to the SGEC for usage license.
4-3 Rights to use “SGEC” initials“SGEC” initials shall be used with correct reference to the SGEC certification
system. The usage of the “SGEC” initials referring to product or its raw material
shall be supported by the SGEC forest management or CoC certificate.

17

5. SGEC Logo users classification
The SGEC Logo users are stipulated under the following categories.
5-1 Forest owners and managersa) holders of an effective group certificateb) individual forest owners and managers (as holders of effective individual
certificate or members in effective group certificate)
5-2 Forest related industriesa) holders of an effective multisite CoC organizationb) individual CoC organizations (as holders of effective individual CoC certificate
or members in effective multisite CoC certificate)
5-3 Organizations and other entities other than those classified under SGEC Logo users
above which are using the SGEC Logo off-product for promotional anddissemination/education purposes.
Note: The SGEC Logo users stipulated in 5-3 also covers a broad range of entities
which intend to use the SGEC Logo for promotional or disseminational/educational
purposes and ranges from trade and industry associations, research and educational
institutions, governmental organizations, NGOs, etc. This category also covers
organizations within the forest products chain, where the CoC certification does not
apply as they are consumers of forest based products (e.g. governments, banks) orare selling the products with claims and/or labels which are placed on the productby their suppliers.
6. SGEC Logo usage
6-1 General requirements
The SGEC Logo can be used on-product stipulated in 4-2-1 above and off-productstipulated in 4-2-2 above.
Table 1SGEC Logo user / usage

On-product usage

Off-productusage

5-1 Forest owners and managers

Yes

Yes

5-2 Forest related industries

Yes

Yes

5-3 Other organizations/entities

No

Yes

6-2 On-product usage
6-2-1 The SGEC Logo can be used on-product by forest owners and managers
stipulated in 5-1 above and CoC organizations stipulated in 5-2 above.
18

6-2-2 Design of the SGEC logo and items displayed with
6-2-2-1 The basic rules in case of the use of the SGEC logo are as followsa) The designated color as stipulated in Attachment 2-1 shall be usedwith the basic design of the logo.
b) The reversal design of the logo can be used.
c) In case of the use of the logo on the colored ground, the designatedcolor shall be used in the logo.
d) The following format shall be used in case of items displayed withthe logo
Text under the logo: Necessary items
shall be written within the square frame
under the logo.
The font of the characters of the text
shall be “新ゴM”(“ＭＳゴシッ
ク”can be used in case of small
numbers printing by PCs).

CoC certification (licence) number
Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council

Size of the square frame:

CoC organizer’s nameHorizontal size: 1.5 times of the size oflogo at maximum
Vertical size: Within the size able todisplay necessary items

X% SGEC certified products

1.5 times of the size of logo at
maximum

6-2-2-2 The SGEC Logo license number issued to the SGEC Logo user shall be
used together with the SGEC Logo.
6-2-2-3 The CoC organizer’s name, origin of certified products as well as
description of certified products can be used as a part of the SGEC
certified label.
6-2-3 Specific requirements for the SGEC labels
6-2-3-1 The display method of the SGEC certified label under SGEC Logoa) Ordinary product includes both the SGEC certified raw material andother raw material shall be labelled as follows.
(1) The product includes minimum of 70% of the SGEC
certified material can be used as a part of the SGEC certifiedlabel.
19

(2) The product includes less than 70% and over 10% of the
SGEC certified material can be labeled as “X% SGEC
certified products”. However, the percentage number canbe labelled in Y0% by rounding off to a two-digit number.
(3) In case of the percentage of the certified material is less than
10%, such products cannot be labelled as the certified
products.
b） The percentage of certified material in the houses constructed by thosematerials can be labeled by the following method (for the time being,
the percentage of the certified material in main structural material canbe applied).
(1) The house includes minimum of 70% of the SGEC certified
material can be used of the SGEC certified material houses.
(2) The house includes less than 70% and over 10% of the SGEC
certified material can be labelled as “X% SGEC certified
material houses”. However, the percentage number can bedisplayed in Y0% by rounding off to a two-digit number.
(3) In case of the percentage of the certified material is less than
10%, such houses cannot be labelled as the SGEC certified
material houses.
6-2-4 Usage of the SGEC Logo as “the display tools”
6-2-4-1 The SGEC Logo as stipulated in Attachment 2-1 can be used as thedisplay tools.
6-2-4-2 Usage of the SGEC Logo as the display tools shall be as follows.
a) The SGEC logo can be labelled on seal, carved seal, stamp, signboard,flag and sheet (abbreviated as “the display tools”) as well as advertisingmaterials for display of the certified material and products.
b) The SGEC logo can be labelled at the site where the certified products
throughout the whole process of storage, production, processing andtrading are stored.
c) The SGEC logo can be labelled on the certified constructional materials
by the display tools. Piece-wise display for structural sawed wood andbundle-wise display for other material shall be applied.
6-2-5 Exceptional usage of the SGEC label
6-2-5-1 Usage of the SGEC Logo without the CoC license number
The SGEC Logo without the SGEC Logo license number can be used in
exceptional circumstances, subject to the approval by the organization20

which has issued the license, where the size of the SGEC Logo /label
would result in the license not being readable or placing the license
number on the product would not be feasible anda) the SGEC Logo with the license number is used on other parts ofthe products (e.g. packaging, large boxes, a leaflet or manual to the
product) orb) the user of the SGEC Logo can be clearly and unambiguously
identified from other on product information.
6-3 Off-product usage
6-3-1 Coverage of the off-product usage
The off-product SGEC Logo usage coversa) communication/information dissemination on projects and initiatives
focusing on development and promotion of the SGEC schemes andcertificationsb) other educational and promotional usage of SGEC Logo
6-3-2 General requirements for off-product usage
Attachment 2-1 shall be referred.
Supplementary article
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2012.
Supplementary article 2
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2015.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Operational Rules may be effective
during transitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.

21

Attachment 2-2-1-1:
Issuance of the SGEC Logo usage license
Preface:
The SGEC logo/label provides accurate and verifiable information relating to the origin offorest based product in sustainably managed forest, post-consumer recycled raw material andother environmental sound non-controversial sources. Through such information
dissemination, it aims that citizens and consumers are encouraged to purchase the products
from sustainably managed forests and environmentally friendly products selectively,
The SGEC Logo shall be issued with valid SGEC Logo usage license.
SGEC shall undertake the procedures related to the issuance of PEFC logo license to thePEFC-CoC certificate holders in Japan as the national governing body (NGB) of Japan, based
upon the contract for administration of PEFC scheme agreed by both PEFC Council and SGEC
according to PEFC GD 1004:2009 “Administration of PEFC Scheme”.
1.

2.

3.

Scope
The document covers requirements for issuance of the SGEC Logo usage license forproper use of the Logo based upon Attachment 2-1: SGEC logo and labels and 2-2:
Regulation of the use of SGEC logos and labels.
.
Normative references
Operation Rules of Forest Management Certification and Forest Products Chain of
Custody Certification by Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC)
Attachment 2-1: SGEC logo and labels
Attachment 2-2: Regulation of the use of SGEC logos and labels
Certificate endorsed by the certification body which is recognized by the accreditationbody stipulated in Article 19 of the Operational Rules and FM certificate and CoC
certificate endorsed by the SGEC
3-1 Certificate issued by the certification body
The certification body shall be acknowledged by the accreditation body within thescope of the SGEC scheme and the certificate issued shall be sealed by theaccreditation body’s Logo.
3-2 Certificate endorsed by the SGECThe following requirements shall be met:22

3-2-1 Valid FM certificate issued by the certification bodies, which have been put inthe notification in accordance with the SGEC scheme, within the scope offorest management certification requirements of the SGEC
3-2-2 Valid CoC certificate issued by the certification bodies, which have been put inthe notification in accordance with the SGEC scheme, within the scope of CoC
certification requirements of the SGEC
4.

Requirements for issuance of the SGEC Logo usage license
4-1 General requirements
The CoC organization who apply for issuance of the license shall meet the followinga) Corporate entityb) The applicant (corporate entity) agrees that the SGEC shall collect theidentification information of the applicant and make it open to the pubic
4-2 Specific requirements
FM certificate and CoC certificate shall meet the requirements in 3 above.
4-2-1 Forest owners / managers who meet the followinga) Valid certificate for forest management endorsed by the SGECb) Valid contract for the SGEC Logo usage license with the SGEC
4-2-2 CoC organizations who meet the followinga) Valid certificate for CoC endorsed by the SGECb) Valid contract for the SGEC Logo usage license with the SGEC
4-2-3 Other organizations who meet the followinga) Usage of the SGEC Logo shall meet the objective of the SGECb) Valid contract for the SGEC Logo usage license with the SGEC

5.

Procedures of issuance of the license

23

Figure 1: Process of issuance of the license
The applicant will submit the filled application withnecessary documents to the SGEC (Form 1).

The SGEC secretariat will review the application.
Not approved
The Chief Secretary of the SGEC will decide on thematters (license number) related to issuance of thelicense.

The applicant may claim to the Board of
Directors.
The Board of Directors
shall make their decision which is a final
one (license number).

Approved
Approved
The Chief Secretary of the SGEC and the applicant
shall sign the contract for usage of SGEC Logo
(Form 2).

Note: Form 1 and 2 above shall be made in line with PEFC GD 1005:2010 separately.
6.

Fees for usage of the license
For the time being, fees are not charged.

7.

Duration of validity of the license
Duration of validity of the license shall be in line with duration of valid certificate for FM
or CoC as stipulated in 4-2-1 and 4-2-2 above. Duration of validity of the license shallbe same as the validity of the contract concerned for the other organizations stipulated in
4-2-3.

8.

Temporary / one time usage of the license
Temporary / one time usage of the license may be permitted in off-product usage forthose who does not have valid SGEC Logo usage license with the following
requirements.
a) The usage of SGEC Logo shall meet the objectives of the SGECb) The number associated with the use of SGEC Logo shall be temporary / one time
license number by the SGEC.
c) The usage of SGEC Logo shall be accompanied with the claim of valid license.
Those who want to use temporary / one time usage of the SGEC Logo shall apply for the
SGEC with the documents in which name and address of the applicant and usage24

requirements are written.
9.

Issuance of PEFC logo use license
In case of issuance of PEFC logo use licenses to SGEC certified products after themutual recognition between SGEC and PEFC, the issuance shall follow PEFC GD
1004:2009 "Administration of PEFC Scheme” and “PEFC GD 1005 “Issuance of PEFC
Logo Use Licenses”.

Supplementary article
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2015.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Operational Rules may be effective
during transitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.
Supplementary Article 2This revised document will be effective from 1st January 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.

25

Attachment 2-2-1-2:

Issuance of PEFC Logo Usage License

Foreword
This document stipulates rules for issuance of PEFC Logo usage license to SGEC certified
forest owners/managers, SGEC CoC organizations, PEFC CoC organizations or other users,
by SGEC as the National Governing Body in Japan under authorization from PEFC Council
based on a contract between SGEC and PEFC Council for administration of PEFC scheme inaccordance with PEFC DG 1004:2009 “Administration of PEFC scheme”.
Introduction
The PEFC logo / label provides information relating to the origin of forest based product insustainably managed forest and other non controversial sources. Purchasers and potential
purchasers can use this information in choosing the product based on environmental, as wellas other considerations.
Within Japan, PEFC logo license shall be issued only by SGEC which is authorized by
PEFC Council for issuance of PEFC logo license.
1. Scope
In order to secure the legitimate use of PEFC logo under PEFC ST 2001:2008 “PEFC Logo
Usage Rules –Requirements, Second Edition”, this document stipulates rules which shall befollowed in case of issuance of PEFC logo usage license to entities registered in Japan that are
SGEC certified forest owners/managers, SGEC CoC organizations, PEFC CoC organizations
or other users, by SGEC as the National Governing Body in Japan under authorization from
PEFC based on a contract between SGEC and PEFC Council for administration of PEFC
scheme in accordance with PEFC DG 1004:2009 “Administration of PEFC scheme”.
2. Normative references PEFC ST 2002:2013 “Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products –Requirements,
Second Edition”
 PEFC ST 2001:2008 “PEFC Logo Usage Rules –Requirements, Second Edition”
 PEFC GD 1004:2009 “Administration of PEFC Scheme”
 SGEC Document 3 “Principles, Indicators and Guidelines for SGEC Forest Management
Certification”

26



SGEC Document 4 “Guidelines for SGEC CoC Certification”

3. Certificate issued by a certification body and CoC certificate recognized by SGEC or
PEFC
3.1 Accredited certificate issued by a certification body
The certification body shall be accredited by an accreditation body within the SGEC orPEFC accreditation scope, and the accredited certificate shall bear an accreditation symbolof the relevant accreditation body.
3.2 Accredited certificate recognized by SGEC or PEFC
A valid accredited forest management or CoC certificate issued by a SGEC or PEFC
notified certification body (PEFC notification is carried out by SGEC under authorization
by PEFC Council according to Attachment 2-12-2 of SGEC Document 2) based on the
SGEC forest management standard, SGEC CoC standard or PEFC CoC standard.
NOTE: PEFC endorsed CoC standards may be found at the PEFC Council website,www.pefc.org.
4. Conditions for issuance of license
4.1 General conditions
An entity applying for the license shalla) be a legal entity,b) agree that the PEFC Council and SGEC collects and makes publicly available theentity`s identification and other information as specified by the PEFC Council.
4.2 Special conditions
An entity which belongs to any of the following user groups shall be registered in Japan.
User group A: Not Applicable
User group B: Forest owner/manager, shalla) hold a valid, SGEC recognized forest management certificate,b) sign the PEFC Logo Use Contract with SGEC as a licensing body of PEFC Logo usage.
User group C: Forest related industries, shalla) hold a valid, SGEC or PEFC recognized CoC certificate,b) sign the PEFC Logo Use Contract with SGEC as a licensing body of PEFC Logo usage.

27

The holder of multisite CoC certification which central office is located in Japan canapply for multi-license covering the whole or a part of the scope of the multi-site
certification provided that:a) the central office and the sites are a part of a single legal entity orb) the central office and the sites are a part of a single company with a single management
and organizational structure.
User group D: Other users, shalla) identify the purpose of the PEFC logo use that does not conflict with the objectives
and good name of the PEFC Council,b) sign the PEFC Logo Use Contract with SGEC as a licensing body of PEFC Logo usage.
5. License issuance process
SGEC carries out issuance of PEFC logo usage license as the National Governing Body inJapan under authorization from PEFC based on a contract between SGEC and PEFC Council
for administration of PEFC scheme in accordance with PEFC GD 1004:2009 “Administrationof PEFC scheme”.

Figure 1 Diagram of license issuance process

6．Logo use fee

28

Logo use fees are not incurred for the time being.
7. Validity of license
Licenses are valid for the following time periods:a) User group A: Not applicableb) User group B: Validity of the SGEC accredited forest management certificatec) User group C: Validity of the PEFC CoC accredited certificate or SGEC CoC accredited
certificated) User group D: Validity of the contract
8. One-off use of the PEFC Logo
SGEC, as a licensing body authorized by PEFC Council, may allow a one-off usage of thePEFC Logo for off-product purposes to users without an individual license under the following
conditions:a) the use shall not conflict the objectives and good name of the PEFC Councilb) the PEFC Logo shall be used with the number given by SGEC (PEFC/*****)c) the disclaimer “Reproduced with the permission of SGEC” shall be used.
Supplementary article
This document (approved 10th February 2016) will be effective from 1st April 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, this document will become applicable after SGEC, as the
National Governing Body in Japan, is authorized by PEFC Council as a licensing body ofPEFC Logo usage licenses based on a contract between SGEC and PEFC Council for
administration of PEFC scheme in accordance with PEFC GD 1004:2009 “Administration of
PEFC scheme”.
Supplementary article 2This document (approved 31st March, 2016) will be effective from 1st April 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, this document will become applicable after SGEC, as the
National Governing Body in Japan, is authorized by PEFC Council as a licensing body ofPEFC Logo usage licenses based on a contract between SGEC and PEFC Council for
administration of PEFC scheme in accordance with PEFC GD 1004:2009 “Administration of
PEFC scheme”.

29Attached sheet 1 –Attachment 2-2-1-2
Format of PEFC Logo Use Contract
This document defines the format of PEFC Logo Use Contract between SGEC and a PEFC
logo user to be used for issuance of PEFC Logo usage license to SGEC forest management
organizations and CoC organizations, PEFC CoC organizations and others, by SGEC as the
National Governing Body in Japan under authorization from PEFC Council based on thecontract between SGEC and PEFC Council for administration of PEFC scheme in accordancewith PEFC DG 1004:2009 “Administration of PEFC scheme”.

PEFC Logo Use Contract
Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council, a general incorporated association (hereinafter referred
to as SGEC) and xxxx Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as the Logo User) have agreed
upon the articles listed below under the following conditions:a) The Logo User shall be a logo user which belongs to the user group B, C or D stipulated in
SGEC Document, Attachment 2-2-1-2 “Issuance of PEFC Logo Usage License”.
b) PEFC Council is the owner of PEFC logo as a registered trademark and holds its copyright.
c) SGEC is authorized to issue PEFC logo usage license in Japan on behalf of PEFC Council
based on the contract between SGEC and PEFC Council.
d) The Logo User is provided PEFC logo usage license with the registration number PEFC/31○○○ and permitted to use PEFC logo in compliance with the PEFC logo usage rules.

Article 1: Definitions:
1. The PEFC Logo Usage Rules
This is set of requirements for the use of the PEFC Logo defined in PEFC ST 2001:2008, ver.2 whichforms part of the contractual documentation and is found in the annex of this contract.

2. Tariffs of PEFC logo fees
PEFC logo fees are included in PEFC notification fees which shall be determined separately.

30

Article 2: Copyrights to the PEFC logo
1. For the avoidance of any doubt, the PEFC logo is copyright material and is a registeredtrademark owned by the PEFC Council. The initials “PEFC” are covered by copyright andare registered. Unauthorised use of this copyright material is prohibited and may lead to legal
action. The use of the PEFC logo is regulated and governed by SGEC under authorization by
the PEFC Council.

Article 3: Responsibilities of the Logo User
1. The logo user is obliged to use the PEFC logo in accordance with the PEFC Logo Use Rules andtogether with a registration number issued by SGEC so as to ensure that the logo user is identifiable onits basis.

2. PEFC logo license issuance fee and annual PEFC logo use fee are included in PEFC notification fee paidby a certification body. The tariff system of the PEFC logo fees can be changed by SGEC during thevalidity of the contract. SGEC shall inform the Logo User of the corresponding change in the contract
between SGEC and the Logo User concerning the fees in writing.

3. The Logo User is obliged to inform SGEC immediately and truthfully on any changes
concerning logo user's identification data and certified status, the latter in case of logo userof forest management certification holder or CoC certification holder.

Article 4: Responsibilities of SGEC
1. SGEC is obliged to provide the Logo User with the PEFC Logo Usage Toolkit within two
weeks following the signing the contract.
2. SGEC is obliged to inform the Logo User on any changes of the PEFC Council and SGEC
regulations and documentation concerning the PEFC logo use which affect this contract.

Article 5: Penalty
1. SGEC may impose, in case of user group B or C, a contractual penalty of a Japanese yenamount being one-fifth the market value of the products to which unauthorised on- or offproduct logo use relates, unless the Logo User proves that such unauthorised use was31unintentional. In the latter case the penalty will be limited to 1,500,000 yen.
2. SGEC has the right to alter the amount of penalty demanded for use of the PEFC logo incontravention of the contract. The change shall come into effect in the contract between
SGEC and the Logo User three months and five days after the former has informed the latter,in writing, of the change.

Article 6: Contract Termination
1. Either party may terminate the contract with three-month prior notice by registered letter.
2. SGEC may revoke the contract temporarily with immediate effect while a suspicion of contravention of
the contract or the PEFC Logo Use Rules is being investigated. In case of suspicion, SGEC shall send
the Logo User a written request for an explanation and notification of the temporary revocation of thecontract. The temporary revocation shall remain in effect for a maximum period of one (1) month after
the Logo User has provided an explanation concerning the suspected misuse to SGEC, which will
examine the matter. SGEC reverse a decision on the temporary revocation of the contract when the logo
user has implemented corrective measures approved by the SGEC and given SGEC notification that thishas been done.

3. SGEC may terminate the contract with immediate effect if there are reasons to believe thatany of the terms of the contract or the PEFC Logo Use Rules are not being adhered to.
4. Withdrawal, suspension or the end of the validity of the SGEC forest management
certificate, SGEC CoC certificate or PEFC recognised chain of custody certificate will
result in automatic termination of the contract with effect on the same date as thewithdrawal, suspension or the end of the validity of the certificate.
5. Withdrawal, suspension or the end of the contract between the PEFC Council and SGEC
will result in automatic termination of the contract between SGEC and the Logo User witheffect on the same date as the withdrawal, suspension or the end of the contract between the
PEFC Council and SGEC.
6. No PEFC logo fee, if paid, is refunded to the Logo User in case of temporary revocation or
termination of the contract according to the Article 6, bullet 2, 3, 5 and 4.
7. SGEC is not obliged to pay compensation for any costs or other damages which the32temporary revocation or termination above causes to the Logo User.

Article 7: Reporting and Presentation
1. PEFC Council and SGEC are permitted to present publicly logo user's identification dataand information concerning the certification status provided by the Logo User.
2. The Logo User, in case of user group B or C, shall undertake to provide SGEC,
immediately after each audit of the forest management or CoC certification, with anotification, verified by the certification body, of the on-product use of the PEFC logo, e.g.
broken down by product, product category, production unit or similar, to the degree of
accuracy that the certification system used by the Logo User permits. In the same
conjunction, the Logo User shall supply SGEC with a detailed, free form account of any
off-product use of the PEFC logo.
3. The Logo User, in case of user group D, shall give SGEC an annual report containing an
itemised, free form account of the PEFC Logo's off-product use.

Article 8: Validity of the Contract
1. The contract enters into force when it has been signed by both parties.

Article 9: Other terms of the contract
1. SGEC reserves the right to carry out (by itself or to commission a third party to act on its behalf) an onsite inspection of the Logo User's operations if it has received a complaint by third party or if SGEC has
reasons to believe that the contract is being contravened. The Logo User shall bear responsibility for thecosts of said inspection and any other detrimental effects.

2. The Logo User, in case of the group B or C, undertakes to enter an agreement with thecertification body within three months of signing this contract (a copy to be sent to the SGEC)
to that effect that, in conjunction with the audits conducted subsequent to signing this contract,
certification body will examine the system by means of which the Logo User keeps recordsof the production volumes marked with the PEFC logo and how the Logo is used on them.
The certification body shall have a right to inform SGEC of changes of which it is aware,without consulting the Logo User.

33

Article 10: Arbitration
1. This contract is subject to Japanese law.
2. All disputes arising out of this agreement shall be finally and exclusively settled by the
courts in Japan.

Signed in duplicate.
In

on

In

For and on behalf of SGEC

For and on behalf of
The Logo User___________________________________________

SGEC, Secretary General34

onAttached sheet 2 –Attachment 2-2-1-2

APPLICATION FOR
PEFC LOGO USE LICENSE

I. Applicant`s Identification Data
Organization or company
name
Name of representative of
theorganization/company
or manager of therelated division
Address
Contact person
Telephone

Fax

E-mailURL

In case of application for group forest management certification or multi-license CoC covering
several sites, the application shall include identification and contact details of all the membersof the group certification or of all sites of CoC for which the application made.

II. Applicant`s Logo User Group(Only one category can be marked in single application)
Forest owners/managers□ Forest management certification holder

Group B of Attachment 2-2-1-2□Group forest management certification
participant□ Group forest management certification
holderForestry, forest related industry, trade□ CoC certification holder□ Site of multi-site CoC certification

35

Group C of Attachment 2-2-1-2□ Multi-site CoC certification holder

Other users
Group D of Attachment 2-2-1-2□

III. Information and Documents for Application Processing
Certification number/Expire date (ifgroup B and C)
Confirmation of participation in group
forest management certification ./ multisite CoC certification
Turnover of forest products for the lastyear in Japanese yen
Documents required for the Application Processing:□ Copy of the certificate (in case of forest management certificate or CoC certificate)□ Copy of the confirmation of participation in group certification (in case of group
forest management certification or multi-site CoC certification)□ List of all members or sites covered by the application , including full contact
details (in case of forest management certification, CoC certification, group forest
management certification or multi-site CoC certification)

IV. Self-Declaration:
I hereby confirm that:- I have read the SGEC and PEFC regulations concerning PEFC logo use and accept them.
- The data included in this application are complete and truthful.

Signature or seal of applicant`s
representative or manager listed in above I

36

Attachment 2-2-2:
SGEC Information Register
1. Purpose
The document stipulates the matters related to registration of SGEC Logo users,
certificate for forest management endorsed by the SGEC as well as certificate for CoC
endorsed by the SGEC, thus contributes to operating the data-base in SGEC secretariat
and will be able to provide the uniformed data necessary for the society and consumers.
2. Scope
The document covers requirements for registration of the following items:
2-1 SGEC Logo users (CoC certification number and logo license number)
2-2 Forest management certificate holder and its participants
2-3 CoC organization certificate holder and the relevant sites under multi-site CoC
organization certificate
2-4 SGEC certified products
2-5 SGEC certification bodies
3. Registration of holders of certificate and logo usage license
Registration of all holders of SGEC logo usage license, forest management certificate aswell as CoC organization certificate shall be made and operated in the electric format as
described in table 1 and table 2.
Table 1: Responsibilities of data registration and archiving
SGEC’s responsibilities

Certification bodies’ responsibilities

Group entity for FM certificate holder
and the participantsGroup entity for FM certificate holder andthe participants

FM certificate holder

FM certificate holder

Central office for multi-site CoC
organization certificate holder and theCentral office for multi-site CoC
organization certificate holder and the

sites

sites

CoC organization certificate holder

CoC organization certificate holder

Off-products SGEC logo user
SGEC certified products
SGEC certification bodies
Table 2: SGEC logo users list format
37

Type of logo use

User of
logo

Certification
numberLogo license number

FM
1-1 Individual
1-2 Group

Including participant number

CoC
2-1 Individual
2-2 Multi-site

Including site number

Off-products
3-1 Educational
3-2 Environmental
NGO
3-3 Social NGO
3-4 Others
4. Responsibility for information registration
3-1 SGECSGEC shall have its responsibility for registration and archiving the information
related to logo users.
3-2 Group entity for group forest management certificate or central office for multi-site
CoC organization
Group entity for group forest management certificate or central office for multi-site
CoC organization shall have its responsibility for registration and archiving theinformation related to the relevant participants/sites.
5. Provision of data
The primary data related to SGEC certification scheme shall be made available via
internet for securing its system accountability and transparency as well as addressing
inquiry from the customers and the public.
Supplementary article
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2015.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Operational Rules may be effective
during transitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.

38

Attachment 2-4:
Requirement for group forest management certificate
Preface:
Forest ownership in Japan is characterized by significant numbers of small forest holdings inprivate forests which occupy 70% of total forests. The limited financial income of small
forest owners; periodicity of their forest management activities and revenues; limited accessto information and knowledge; as well as limitations relating to their conformity with some of
the criteria for SFM which cannot be achieved in small forest area, represent significant
barriers to forest certification.

1.

Scope
The requirements for group forest management certification schemes, stipulated in
Article 5 of the Operational Rules of Forest Management Certification and Forest Products
Chain of Custody Certification by SGEC, shall be defined in this Attachment.
This document defines the general requirements for group forest management
certification which allow the certification of a number of forest owners/managers under one
certificate. The group forest management certification requires establishing a specificmanagement structure that includes the individual forest owners/managers as defined below.
A group entity represents the individual forest owners/managers in the forest certificationin order to ensure the appropriate implementation of the SFM standard and provide a
sufficient level of confidence in certification activities.
The group entity and the participants share responsibility under the system stipulated inthis document.

2.

Terms and definitions
2-1 Certified area:
The forest area covered by a group forest certificate representing the sum of forest
areas of the participants.
2-2 Group entity:
An entity that represent the participants, with overall responsibility for ensuring theconformity of forest management in the certified area to the SFM and otherapplicable requirements of the forest certification scheme. The relationshipbetween the terms “group organization”, “group entity” and “participant” is shown in39

Figure 1.
Group organization (2-3)
Group entity (2-2)

Participant (2-4)
Participant (2-4)

Participant (2-4)

Figure 1
2-3 Group organization:
A group of participants represented by the group entity for the purpose of
implementation of the SFM and its certification.
2-4 Participant:
A forest owner/manager or other entity covered by the group forest certificate, who
has the legal right to manage the forest in a clearly defined forest area, and the ability
to implement the requirements of the SFM standard in that area.
2-5 Group forest certificate:
A document confirming that the group organization complies with the requirementsof the SFM standard and other applicable requirements of the forest certification
scheme.
2-6 Group forest certification:
Certification of the group organization under one group forest certificate
2-7 Document confirming participation in group forest certification
A document issued to an individual participant that refers to the group forest
certificate and that confirms the participant as being covered by the scope of thegroup forest certification.
3.

Functions and responsibilities of the group entity and participants
3-1 General(1) Eligibility of individual forest owner identified under one forest management
certification shall be subject to the evaluation by the certification body and all40

participants shall be subject to the internal auditing program and the group entity
shall define requirements for such internal auditing program.
(2) The whole group organization shall implement an audit for all the participants
based on an annual internal auditing program that provides sufficient confidence
in the conformity of the whole group organization with the SFM.
(3) In cases where a part/ all of a participant’s forest under the group forest certificate
is covered by an additional group or individual forest management certificate, thegroup entity shall ensure that the participant shall report any non-conformity to
the group entity, if it arises with respect to the additional forest management
certificate, and shall address it as a subject of “implementation and review of anannual internal auditing program” stipulated in 3-2-(3) of this attachment and takenecessary measures based on additional information requested to the participant
regarding the status of the said non-conformity.
3-2 Functions and responsibility of the group entity
The forest certification scheme shall define the following requirements for thefunction and responsibility of the group entity:(1) To represent the group organization in the certification process, including incommunications and relationships with the certification body, submission of an
application for certification, and contractual relationship with the certification
body;(2) To provide a commitment on behalf of the whole group organization to comply
with the relevant requirements of the forest certification scheme;(3) To establish written procedures for the management of the group organizationand to keep records of:a) The group entity and participants’ conformity with the relevant requirements
and all participants’ information, including their contact details,
identification of their forest property and its/their size(s),b) The certified area,c) The implementation of an annual internal auditing program, its review andany preventive and/or corrective actions taken;(4) To establish connections with all participants based on a written agreement
which shall include the participants’ commitment to comply with the forest
management certification criteria. The group entity shall have a written contact
or other written agreement with all participants covering the right of the group
entity to implement and enforce any corrective or preventive measures, and toinitiate the exclusion of any participants from the scope of certification in the41

event of non-conformity with the forest management certification criteria;(5) To provide participants with a document confirming participation in the group
forest certification;(6) To provide all participants with information and guidance required for theeffective implementation of the forest management certification criteria andother relevant requirements;(7) To operate an annual internal auditing program that provides for the evaluationof the participants’ conformity with the certification requirements, and;
(8) To operate a review of conformity with the forest management certification
criteria, that includes reviewing the results of the annual internal auditing
program and the certification body’s evaluations and surveillance; corrective andpreventive measures if required; and the evaluation of the effectiveness ofcorrective actions taken.
3-3 Functions and responsibility of participants
The forest certification scheme shall define the following requirements for theparticipants:(1) To provide the group entity with a written agreement, including a commitment
on conformity with the forest management certification criteria and otherrelevant requirements;(2) To comply the SFM standard and other applicable requirements of the SGEC
forest certification scheme;(3) To provide full cooperation and assistance in responding effectively to all
requests from the group entity or the certification body for relevant data or otherinformation; allowing access to the forest and other facilities;(4) To implement relevant corrective and preventive actions established by thegroup entity.
Supplementary article 1
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2012.
Supplementary article 2
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2015.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Operational Rules may be effective
during transitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.
Supplementary Article 3This document will be effective from 1st January 2016.

42

Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisitionof PEFC Endorsement as transit period, during which the previous document (whichbecame effective on 1st April 2015) maintains its validity.
Supplementary Article 4This document (amended on 10th February 2016) will be effective from 1st April 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisitionof PEFC Endorsement as transit period, during which the previous document (whichbecame effective on 1st April 2015) maintains its validity.

43

Attachment 2-4-1:
Revised requirements for ‘annual internal auditing program’ stipulated in ‘3-1 General’
under ‘3. Functions and responsibilities of the group entity and participants’ of‘Attachment 2-4: Requirement for group forest management certificate’
The following are the revised requirements mentioned above.
1 Internal audit procedurei) Each group entity shall make an internal auditing program, conduct internal audits for
all participants under their group organization periodically, once a year at least, and keep
the result of the audits as a record in a written form.
ii) In order to ensure appropriate audits, each group entity shall establish a committee incharge of internal audits, comprised of two or three audit members, including a leader(hereinafter referred to as ‘internal audit committee’) and give the audit members
necessary education and training.
2 Handling of matters pointed out in internal auditsi) If a group entity receives a report that the internal audit committee has pointed out
matters to be corrected, the group entity shall request the participant in question to takecorrective action and call upon the internal audit committee to conduct a follow-up auditof the corrective action. The internal audit committee shall report to the group entity on
the results of the follow-up audit when confirming that the corrective action has beentaken with respect to the matters pointed out.
ii) The participant who receives from the group entity a request, based on the results of
the internal audit, to take corrective action shall sincerely make improvements withrespect to the request and accept a follow-up audit to obtain an audit confirmation of
improvements made.
iii) If the participant in question does not take necessary corrective action in accordancewith the request based on the results of the internal audit or is not willing to do so, thegroup entity may either recommend the participant to withdraw from the group forest
management certification, or take necessary steps to expel the participant from the group
forest management certification.
3 Reporting on internal auditsi) Each group entity shall report on the results of the internal audit at least once a year tothe committee in charge of administering group forest management as a whole which all

44

participants attend (referred to as ‘group committee’), and consider reviewing the group
forest management if necessary.
ii) Each group entity shall also provide the group committee with material for
management review in accordance with the results of the internal audits.
Supplementary Article
This document will be effective from 1st July 2014.
Supplementary Article 2This document will be effective from 1st April 2015
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisitionof PEFC Endorsement as transit period, during which the previous document (whichbecame effective on 1st July 2014) maintains its validity.

45

Attachment 2-8:
Requirement for Multi-site CoC Organization
Preface:
The aim of this Attachment is to establish guidance for the implementation of the chain ofcustody requirements in an organization with a network of sites, thus ensuring on the one
hand, that the certification of the chain of custody is practical and feasible in economic andoperative terms and on the other, that the assessment provides adequate confidence in theconformity of the chain of custody. Certification of multisite organizations also allows
implementation and certification of the chain of custody in a group of typically small
independent companies.
This Attachment only includes requirements for implementation of the chain of custodyrequirements which are applicable to organizations with multiple sites.
1. Scope of eligibility:
The requirements for the multisite CoC organization stipulated in Article13, Section 3 of
the Operational Rules of Forest Management Certification and Forest Products Chain of
Custody Certification by SGEC shall be provided herein.
A group organization, where all sites shall have a legal or contractual link with the central
office and be subject to a common CoC which is subject to continuous surveillance by thecentral office, can acquire a multisite CoC organization.
2.

Definitions:
2-1 The multi-site organization is defined as an organization having an identified central
function (normally, and hereafter referred to as a “central office”) at which certain
activities are planned, controlled and managed and a network of local offices orbranches (sites) at which such activities are fully or partially carried out.
2-2 All sites shall have a legal or contractual link with the central office and be subject to
a common CoC which is subject to continuous surveillance by the central office.
This means that the central office has the right to implement corrective actions whenneeded at any site. Where applicable, this should be laid down in the contract
between the central office and the sites.
2-3 The multisite organization may cover:
2-3-1 organizations operating with franchises
2-3-2 companies with multiple branches where the sites are linked through a46

common ownership, management or other organizational link
2-3-3 groups of independent legal enterprises established and functioning for the
purposes of the CoC certification (producer group).
2-4 The producer group above means a network of typically small independent
enterprises which have associated together for the purpose of obtaining andmaintaining CoC certification. The central office may be an appropriate tradeassociation, or any other properly experienced legal entity that is either nominatedfor the purpose by a group of intending members or offers a group service managed
for the purposes of and consistently with this requirement. The central office canalso be administered by one member of the group.
Note: The central office in the case of the producer group can be called the “group
entity” and sites can be called “group members”.
2-5 A site means location on which activities relating to the organization’s CoC are
carried out.
2-6 The producer group is limited to participation of sites which:
2-6-1 have no more than 50 employees (full time employees equivalent)
2-6-2 have an turnover of maximum of 100 million yen, or equivalent.
3. Eligibility criteria for the multi-site organization
3-3 General
3-1-1 The organization’s CoC site shall be centrally administered and be subject tocentral review. All the relevant sites (including the central administration
function) shall be subject to the organization’s internal audit program andshall have been audited in accordance with that program prior to thecertification body starting its assessment.
3-1-2 It shall be demonstrated that the central office of the organization has
established a CoC in accordance with this standard and that the wholeorganization (including all the sites) meets this requirements.
3-1-3 The multisite organization shall be able to demonstrate its ability to collectand analyze data from all sites including the central office authority and its
ability to initiate changes in the CoC operating in the sites if required.
3-4 Function and responsibility of the multisite organization
3-2-1 The multisite CoC organization shall stipulate its regulations to exclude suchsites, which have been confirmed under Article 16, Section 1 of the
Operational Rules of Forest Management Certification and Forest Products
Chain of Custody Certification by SGEC, from the scope of the CoC
certification of the multisite CoC organization.

47

3-2-2 The central office and the sites shall meet the followings;
3-2-2-1 The central office shall:(1) represent the multisite CoC organization,(2) submit an application for the certification and its scope, including alist of participating sites to the certification body,(3) ensure contractual relationship with the certification body,(4) submit to the certification body a request for extension or reductionof the certification scope, including coverage of participating sites,
as necessary,(5) The central office shall represent the multi-site organization in thecertification process and provide a commitment on behalf of thewhole organization to establish and maintain a chain of custody inaccordance with the requirements of this standard.
(6) The central office shall provide the sites with all necessary
information and guidance for effective implementation andmaintenance of the CoC in accordance with this standard.
The central office shall provide the sites with or access to thefollowing information:

・This standard and SGEC Document 4-2 “Guidance for Use of
SGEC-CoC Guideline”
・In case where SGEC logo is used, Attachment 2-2 “SGEC Logo
Usage Rule” to SGEC Document 2 “Operational Rules of FM and
CoC Certification” and the accompanying SGEC Logo Sheet, andwhere PEFC logo is used, PEFC ST 2001:2008 ver2 “PEFC Logo
Usage Rules – Requirements” and any guidance relating to theimplementation of PEFC logo usage rules.
a central office’s procedures for the management of themultisite organization
conditions of the contract with the certification body relating to
the rights of the certification body or accreditation body toaccess the sites’ documentation and installations for the
purposes of evaluation and surveillance, and disclosure of
information about the sites to a third party,

48







explanation of the principle of the mutual responsibility of sites
in the multisite certification,
Note: The term “mutual responsibility” means that nonconformities found in one site or the central office may result incorrective actions to be performed at all sites; and increase ininternal audits or withdrawal of the multisite certificate.
results of the internal audit program and the certification body’s
evaluation and surveillance and relating corrective andpreventive measures applicable to individual sites.
A copy of certificate (including the scope of certification andtargeted sites)(7)
the central office provides organizational or contractual
connection with all the sites, which shall include commitments by
the sites to implement and maintain the CoC in accordance with thisrequirement. The central office shall have a written contract orother written agreement with all the sites which covers the right ofthe central office to implement and enforce any corrective or
preventive measures and to initiate the exclusion of any site fromthe scope of certification in case of nonconformities with thisrequirement,(8) establish written procedures for the management of the multisiteorganization,(9) keep records relating to the central office and all the sites
compliance with the requirements,(10) operate an internal audit program. The internal audit program
shall provide for:
 on-site audit of all the sites (including its own central
administration function) prior to certification body starting its
evaluation,
・ on-site annual audits of all the sites covered by the certification
scope (including its own central administration function(11) on-site audit of any new site prior the certification body starting
the process of the certification scope extension, lliaise with thecertification body and submit relevant application to thecertification body, operate a review of the central office and sites
conformity, including review of results of the internal audits
program and certification body’s evaluations and surveillance;49

shall establish corrective and preventive measures if required; andshall evaluate the effectiveness of corrective actions taken.
3-2-2-2 The sites shall be responsible for:(1) implement and maintain the CoC requirements in accordance with
Document 4 Guideline for SGEC CoC Certification and thisrequirement,(2) entering into contractual relationship with the central office,including commitment on the compliance with the CoC requirements
and other applicable certification requirements,(3) responding to all requests from the central office or the certificationbody for relevant data, documentation or other information related to
the CoC requirements,(4) provide full cooperation and assistance in respect of internal audits
and training performed by the central office and audits performed by
the certification body, including access to the sites installations,(5) implementation of relevant corrective and preventive actions
established by the central office.
4. Scope of responsibilities for this requirements implemented in the multisite organization
Standard requirements of SGEC

Central officeSite

5-2 Physical separation method (CoC)Yes

5-3 Percentage based method (CoC)Yes

7 Minimum management system requirements

Yes

Yes

7-2 Responsibilities and authorities

Yes

Yes

7-2-1 General responsibilities

Yes

Yes

7-2-2 Responsibilities and authorities for CoC

Yes （d, e）

Yes

7-3 Documented procedures

Yes （a, e, f）

Yes

7-4 Record keeping

Yes （f, g）

Yes

7-5 Resource managementYes

7-5-1 Human resources/personnel

Yes (only for
activities

7-5-2 Technical facilities

provided)Yes

7-6 Inspection and control

Yes

Yes

7-7 Complaints

Yes

Yes

Supplementary article
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2012.

50

Yes

Supplementary article 2
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2015.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Operational Rules may be effective
during transitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.
Supplementary article 3This revised document will be effective from 1st January 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisitionof PEFC Endorsement as transit period, during which the previous document (whichbecame effective on 1st April 2012 or 1st April 2015) maintains its validity.

51

Attachment 2-10:
Requirements for Certification Bodies operating certification
under SGEC certification scheme
I.

PrefaceThis Attachment stipulates the requirements for Certification Bodies operating
certification under SGEC certification scheme stipulated in Article 3 (Certification
Principles, Indicators and Guidelines) of Operational Rules of FM certification and CoC
certification.
As for Certification Bodies operating certification under PEFC certification scheme, therequirements for Certification Bodies are stipulated in PEFC 2003：2012 and its Annex
1.
1. Scope
1-1 Certification Bodies
This Attachment shall be applied to the certification body carrying out forest
management certification and forest products chain of custody certification.
This Attachment shall define the specific requirements in addition to therequirements defined in ISO/IEC 17065.
1-2 Scope of products
1-2-1 Scope of forest management certification shall be the certified forests aswell as the standing trees growing in the certified forests, the logs
produced from the certified forests and other forest products and services
from the certified forests (Article 10 of Operational Rules).
1-2-2 Scope of forest products CoC shall be forest products from the certified
forests and raw materials with risk management.
1-3 Evaluation of products to be certified
The principles, indicators and guidelines for products evaluation by thecertification bodies shall be as follows: Document 3 Principles, Indicators and Guidelines for SGEC FM
Certification:
 Document 4 Guidelines for SGEC CoC Certification:
 Attachment 4-1 Specification of SGEC claims
1-4 Requirements of Certification Bodies
The Certification Bodies for FM certification and CoC certification shall meet52the requirements stipulated in Chapter 5 of Operational Rules.
1-5 Applicants for FM certification and CoC certification
1-5-1 The applicants for FM certification shall be the individuals who have thelegal management right of forest area and have submitted its application of
the forest to be certified. The applicants, who meet the requirements in
Attachment 2-4 (Requirement for group forest management certificate),shall also be included.
1-5-2 The applicants for CoC certification shall be the individuals who intend touse the SGEC certified products and have submitted its application of the
CoC certification. The applicants, who meet the requirements in
Attachment 2-8 (Requirement for Multisite CoC Organization), shall also
be included.
1-6 Partial outsourcing of evaluation activities of the Certification Bodies
1-6-1 In case that the Certification Body will outsource a part of its evaluation
activities to the third party, the Certification Body shall meet therequirements stipulated in ISO/IEC 17065.
In this connection, the eligibility of the third party shall be associated withthe requirements stipulated in Section II. 2-1 below for FM certificationbody and in Section III. 2-1 below for CoC certification body.
1-7 Confidentiality
The certification body shall inform the CoC organization that it is obliged
to provide information to SGEC. In order to comply with the ISO/IEC
17065 for confidentiality, the certification body shall have the writtenconsent of the CoC organization for the information disclosed to SGEC.
II. Forest management certification
1. General requirements
1.1 Usage of logos
1-1-1 Logo usage license
When a certification body uses SGEC logo, SGEC logo usage rules defined by the
Article 2 “SGEC Logos” of SGEC Document 2 “Operation Rules of Forest
Management Certification and Forest Products Chain of Custody by Sustainable
Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC)”, Attachment 2-2 “Regulations of the use of
SGEC logos and labels” and the Attachment 2-2-1 “Regulations of the use of SGEC
logos and labels” apply.
In case where PEFC logo is used, PEFC ST 2001:2008 “PEFC Logo Usage Rules –53

Requirements ver. 2” and PEFC GD 1005 “ Issuance of PEFC Logo Use Licenses
by the PEFC Council” apply.
1-1-2 SGEC Logo user’s responsibilities
Responsibilities of the SGEC Logo users shall be stipulated in Attachment 2-1 andAttachment 2-2 of Operational Rules.
In case where PEFC logo is used, logo user`s responsibilities shall follow PEFC ST
2001:2008 “PEFC Logo Usage Rules – Requirements ver.2”.
1.1.3 Caution to certified forest owners/managers on SGEC/PEFC logo usage
Where the certification body makes use of the SGEC/PEFC logo on the certification
document, it shall inform and make clear that the SGEC/PEFC logo on the certificate
only refers to the certified forest owners/managers` compliance with the SGEC/PEFC
certification scheme and does not provide the certified forest owners/managers with theright to use the SGEC/PEFC logo.
2. Resources requirements
2-1 Qualifications and education/training of certification body personnel
2-1-1 Qualification and experience of audit teams
Forest management audit teams are required to have knowledge of 1) the certification
standard (forest management standard) and 2) certification audit and shall include
those who are qualified under either of the following categories a) – c) with morethan two years of working experience, or the category d).
a)
b)
c)
d)

Ph.D. in agriculture (including forest and forestry)
Professional Engineer in forest management
Registered forester for extension services
Veterans in forest management, extension and research who meet thefollowing criteria:

 More than 4 years’ experience with Master degree
 More than 6 years’ experience with Bachelor degree
 More than 8 years’ experience with Associate degree
 More than 12 years’ experience with High school certificate
2-1-1 Education/training
The Certification Body shall conduct its educational programs for the
personnel of evaluation team in line with its standards based upon ISO

54

19011.
2-1-2 Requirements for reviewers or certification decision makers ofcertification evaluation
Reviewers of evaluation of certification application shall have ample
knowledge on items of evaluation, criteria of conformity and nonconformity and methodologies of evaluation for appropriateness,thoroughness and effectiveness of the results of evaluation activities.
Certification decision makers shall have ample knowledge on items ofcertification criteria, certification scheme and conformity evaluation
system. Reviewers can concurrently serve as certification decision
makers.
3. Process requirements
3-1 Application
3-1-1 Information from client forest owners
The client forest owners, as a minimum, shall provide the following
information necessary for evaluation of FM certification;a) Area of forest to be certifiedb) Compositions of forestc) Forest management plan (including manuals/guidelines of operations)d) Group entity and the list of participants as well as a written agreement
between group entity and participants including participants’commitment in case of group FM certificate
3-1-2 Provision of the information relating to the application of the optional
requirements and the notification of the audit plan
3-1-2-1 Client forest owners shall provide the information necessary for evaluationof FM certification. Such information shall include the items, stipulated in
Attachment 2-10-1 “Check list of SGEC FM principles conformity”, fordocument based and on-site based surveillance.
3-1-2-2
The certification body shall have documented procedures to ensure that anaudit plan is established for each audit to provide basis for agreement
regarding the conduct and scheduling of the audit activities. The audit plan
shall be communicated and the dates of the audit shall be agreed with theapplicant organization in advance.
3-1-2-3 The certification body shall review the applicant organization`s documents
before on-site based surveillance in order to evaluate conformity between the55forest management certification principles and the evaluation standard
according to Clause 6.3 of ISO19011.

3-1-3 Group FM certificate
Requirements given in Section 1(2) of Article 5 of Operational Rules andAttachment 2-4 “Requirement for group forest management certificate” apply.
3-.2 Evaluation
The certification body shall conduct the initial audit of a forest management
following the relevant guidance provided in ISO 19011, clause 6.4. The initialaudit and re-certification audits shall be conducted on-site.
3-2-1 Document review (initial and renewal)
Documents provided by the client shall be reviewed, prior to the on-site review,
within the necessary scope of evaluation of SGEC FM certification.
3-2-2 Number of personnel necessary for evaluation (initial and renewal)
Certification body shall decide the number of personnel necessary for document
review and on-site review stipulated in Attachment 2-10-1 “Check list of SGEC FM
principles conformity”.
3.2.3 Evaluation report
3.2.3.1 Identification of the scope of the evaluation
The evaluation report shall identify the applied part of the forests covered by theforest management certification and the organization of the applicant.
3.2.3.2 Definition of the applied certification criteria
The evaluation report shall define the applied certification criteria; i.e. the undermentioned forest management standard or a part of it that are applicable to theorganizations’ forest management:a) Forest management requirements (SGEC Document 3 - “3”b) Items to Confirm the Conformity with SGEC Forest Management Standard(Attached Document 2-10-1)c) SGEC Document 2-2 “Logo Usage Rules”d) Other necessary standards
3.2.3.3 Review
All requirements given in Clause 7.5 of ISO/IEC 17065 apply.
3.2.4 Decision on certification
56

3.2.4.1 Audit findings shall be classified into major non-conformities, minor nonconformities and observations.
3-3 On-site sampling review
3-3-1 Methodologies of sampling review
3-3-1-1 Requirements of on-site sampling review shall be applied theforests stipulated in Attachment 2-4: Requirement for group forest
management certificate.
3-3-1-2 Applied forests within a forest management plan shall be treated asite managed integrally. In case the client has several sites to becertified, the certification body can apply sampling of sites. The
certification body shall be able to demonstrate its justification for
selection of sites for the on-site review to ensure that all differences
across the sites and implementation of forest management andgroup certification have been assessed. If the applied forests arelocated in several municipality-level forest management plans, one
site per each municipality-level forest management plan shall be
principle in review process. However, municipality-level forest
management plan can be up scaled to prefecture-level forest
management plan, if the certification body deems necessary to do
so with local conditions.
3-3-1-3 The sample for the initial, regular and renewal shall be determined
separately for representative categories of sites. The following
indicators shall be used in order to ensure representativeness:a) forest ownership type (e.g. national forest, local government
forest (including communal forest), private forest)b) status of forest management (e.g. size of forest enterprises,
extent of forests, status of forest enterprises including form ofcontract, status of forest management plan)c) biogeographic region (e.g. forest types)d) planted/natural foreste) specific area necessary for conservation of biological diversity(e.g. riparian forest)
3-3-1-4 In addition to the basic criteria stipulated in 3-3-1-3 above, thefollowing items shall be taken in site selection of regular andrenewal evaluation:a) results of internal monitoring or previous certification57

evaluationb) records of complaints and other relevant aspects of corrective
and preventive actionc) significant variations in production processes of the sitesd) modifications since the last certification evaluatione) geographical dispersion
3-3-2 Size of sample
3-3-2-1 The certification body shall have in place documented proceduresfor the determination of the sample size.
3-3-2-2 Generally, these procedures should follow the following
calculation:a) initial evaluation: upon taking due consideration of 3-3-1-3
above, the size of the sample should be the square root of thenumber of remote sites: (y=√x), rounded to the upper whole
number.
b) regular evaluation: the size of the annual sample should be thesquare root of the number of remote sites with 0.6 as acoefficient: (y=0.6√x), rounded to the upper whole number.
c) renewal evaluation: upon taking due consideration of 3-3-1-3
and 3-3-1-4 above, the size of the sample should be the same as
for an initial review. Nevertheless, where the management
system has proved to be effective over a period of three years,
the size of the sample could be reduced by a factor 0.8: (y=0.8√x), rounded to the upper whole number.
3-3-2-3 The size of the sample can be different in the categories ensuring
representativeness established according to the criteria 3-3-1-2
above.
3-3-2-4 The calculation procedure for the size of the sample can be adaptedby the certification body taking into account one or more of thefollowing indicators.
a) size and complexity of the client organization’s operation,
geographical and natural conditionsb) the results of any prior review of the client organization’s
forest managementc) allocation of sites where forest management operations
conductedd) consideration of number of sites and group member

58e) quality/level of confidence of internal monitoring program
3-3-3 Additional sites
On the application of a new group of sites to join an already certified
group FM network, each new group of sites should be considered as anindependent set for the determination of the sample size. After inclusionof the new group in the certification, the new sites should be combinedwith the previous ones for determining the sample size for future regular
evaluation or renewal evaluation.
3-2 Certificate
3-4-1 Issuance of certificate
The certification body shall issue the FM certificate documents to theclient who meet the requirements stipulated in Section 2 in Article 4 aswell as Section 2 in Article 6 of the Operational Rules. The certificationbody shall inform the cancellation of the FM certificate to the client
stipulated in Section 2 in Article 8 of the Operational Rules.
3-4-2 Items mentioned in certificate
The certificate document as official certification under the certification
requirements shall include at least the following items:a) the certification bodyb) name and address of forest owner/managerc) location and size of forest certifiedd) term of validity
3-4-3 Term of validity
The term of validity of FM certificate shall be Article 6 of the Operational
Rules.
3-4-4 Scope of FM certificationa) FM principles, indicators and guidelines appliedb) location and size of forest certifiedc) other products and services stipulated in I 1-2-1
3-3 Report of evaluation result to SGECThe certification body shall report its evaluation result to SGEC as stipulated in
Section 2 of Article 4, Section 2 of Article 6, Section 2 of Article 7 and Section
2 of Article 8 in the Operational Rules.
3-4 Regular evaluation
3-6-1 Frequency of regular evaluation
Frequency of regular evaluation shall be stipulated in Section 1 of Article
7 of the Operational Rules.

59

3-6-2 Number of personnel necessary for regular evaluation
Certification body shall decide the number of personnel necessary for
document review and on-site review in regular evaluation stipulated in
Attachment 2-5 “Regular evaluation report”. On-site review shall bemandatory for Item 1.(1) of Attachment 2-5 “On-site evaluation of the statusof implementation of forest management (including forest managementplan)”.
III. CoC certification
1. General requirements
1.-1 Usage of logos
1-1-1Logo usage license
When a certification body uses SGEC logo, SGEC logo usage rules defined by the
Article 2 “SGEC Logos” of SGEC Document 2 “Operation Rules of Forest
Management Certification and Forest Products Chain of Custody by Sustainable
Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC)”, Attachment 2-2 “Regulations of the use of
SGEC logos and labels” and the Attachment 2-2-1 “Regulations of the use of SGEC
logos and labels” apply.
In case where PEFC logo is used, PEFC ST 2001:2008 “PEFC Logo Usage Rules– Requirements ver. 2” and PEFC GD 1005 “ Issuance of PEFC Logo Use Licenses
by the PEFC Council” apply.
1-1-2 SGEC Logo user’s responsibilities
Responsibilities of the SGEC Logo users shall be stipulated in Attachment 2-1 andAttachment 2-2 of Operational Rules.
In case where PEFC logo is used, logo user`s responsibilities shall follow PEFC ST
2001:2008 “PEFC Logo Usage Rules – Requirements ver. 2”.
1.1.3 Caution to certified CoC organizations on SGEC/PEFC logo usage
Where the certification body makes use of the SGEC/PEFC logo on the certification
document, it shall inform and make clear that the SGEC/PEFC logo on the certificate
only refers to the certified CoC organization`s compliance with the SGEC/PEFC
certification scheme and does not provide the certified CoC organization with the rightto use the SGEC/PEFC logo.

2. Resources requirements60

2-1 Qualifications and education/training of certification body personnel
2-1-1 The audit team shall have knowledge of, 1) the certification standard (SGEC-COC
Standard) and 2) the certification audit and shall include those who are qualified
under either of the under-mentioned categories from a) to d) with minimum two
years of working experience, or by the category e).
a) Ph.D. in agriculture (including forest and forestry)b) Professional Engineer in forest managementc) Registered forester for extension servicesd) Forest products inspector registered by JASe) Veterans in management, extension, inspection and research related
to wood-products and timber business who meet the following
criteria:
 More than 4 years’ experience with Master degree
 More than 6 years’ experience with Bachelor degree
 More than 8 years’ experience with Associate degree
 More than 12 years’ experience with High school certificate
2-1-2 Education/training
The Certification Body shall conduct its educational programs for the
personnel of evaluation team in line with its standards based upon ISO
19011.
2-1-3 Requirements for reviewers or certification decision makers ofcertification evaluation
Reviewers of evaluation of certification application shall have ample
knowledge on items of evaluation, criteria of conformity and nonconformity and methodologies of evaluation for appropriateness,thoroughness and effectiveness of the results of evaluation activities.
Certification decision makers shall have ample knowledge on items ofcertification criteria, certification scheme and conformity evaluation
system. Reviewers can concurrently serve as certification decision
makers.
3. Process requirements
3-1 Application
3-1-1 Information from client organization
The client organization, as a minimum, shall provide the following
information necessary for evaluation of CoC certification;a) corporate entity, name, address and legal status

61b) CoC documented procedures of the client organization as defined in
the CoC standardc) Descriptive identification of the products covered by the CoC, andd) Sites covered by the CoC in the case of multi-site certification (asdefined in the CoC).
3-1-2 Provision of the information relating to the application of the optional
requirements and the notification of the audit plan
3-1-2-1The client organization, as a minimum, shall provide for products
covered by the CoC, the following information relating to the applicationof the optional requirements of the CoC standard:a) chain of custody method (“SGEC-CoC Certification Guidelineclause 5-2 “physical separation method” or clause 5-3 “percentage
method”. The same shall apply hereafter)b) CoC method (either physical separation method or percentage based
method stipulated in Guidelines for SGEC CoC certification)c) method of calculation of the certification percentage (stipulated inDocument 4)d) transfer of certification percentage to output products (stipulated inDocument 4)e) In case where the applicant organization wishes to use SGEC logo, theapplication for SGEC logo usage shall follow Attachment 2-2 “SGEC
logo usage rules”.
Notwithstanding a) to e) above, in case of the application for PEFC
standard, the client organization shall follow PEFC ST 2002 “Chain of
Custody of Forest Based Products – Requirements” and its Appendix 1“Specification of the PEFC claims”, and in case where the applicant
organization wishes to use PEFC logo, application for logo shall follow
PEFC ST 2001:2008 “PEFC Logo Usage Rules –Requirements ver.2”.

3-1-2-2 The certification body shall have documented procedures to ensurethat an audit plan is established for each audit to provide basis for agreement
regarding the conduct and scheduling of the audit activities. The audit plan
shall be notified to the applicant and the dates of the audit shall be agreed
with the applicant in advance.

62

Note: Guidance for preparing the audit plan is provided by ISO
19011. Clause 6.3.2.
3-1-2 Multisite CoC organizations certificate
Requirements given in Section 3 of Article 13 of Operational Rules andAttachment 2-8 “Requirement for Multisite CoC organizations certificate”
apply.
3-1-2-3 The certification body shall review the applicant organization`s
documents before on-site based surveillance in order to evaluate
conformity between the CoC certification principles and the evaluation
standard according to Clause 6.3 of ISO19011.

3-2 Evaluation
The certification body shall conduct the initial audit of a chain of custody
following the relevant guidance provided in ISO 19011, clause 6.4. The
initial audit and re-certification audits shall be conducted on-site
3-2-1 Document review (initial and renewal)
Documents provided by the client shall be reviewed, prior to the on-site
review, within the necessary scope of evaluation of SGEC CoC
certification.
3-2-2 Number of personnel necessary for evaluation (initial and renewal)
Certification body shall decide the number of personnel necessary for
document review and on-site review. The minimum time for the on-site
review is one half of a man day.
3-2-3 Evaluation report3-2-3-1 Identification of the scope of the evaluation
The evaluation report shall identify the parts covered by the chain of thecustody with respect to the applicant’s organization, processes andproduction batches/products.
.
3-2-3-2 Definition of the applied certification criteria; i.e. the applied chain ofcustody standard including the following;a) chain of custody method,b) method of calculation of the certification percentage,c) transfer of certification percentage to output products,d) applied definition of the origin,63e) the SGEC logo usage rules,f) requirements for avoidance of raw material from controversial
sources, andg) other necessary certification standards
Notwithstanding the above, in case of evaluation under PEFC standards,
applied certification criteria concerned the above shall follw PEFC ST 2002
“Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products – Requirements”, and in caseof PEFC logo use, PEFC ST 2001:2008 “PEFC Logo Usage Rules –Requirements ver.2”.
3-2-3-3 Review
All the requirements given in the clause 7.5 of ISO/IEC17065 shall apply.

3-2-4 Certification Decision
3-2-4-1 Audit findings shall be classified into major non-conformities, minor nonconformities and observations.
3-2-4-2 Major and minor nonconformities shall be corrected and the corrective
action(s) shall be verified by the certification body before granting acertification and recertification.
3-2-4-3 Major and minor non-conformities identified in the surveillance audits shallresult in corrective action(s) by the applicant organization resolving the nonconformities. The corrective action plan, including a timeframe, shall be
reviewed and accepted by the certification body. The period for completionof the corrective action(s) for major non-conformities identified insurveillance audits and their verification by the certification body shallfollow the rules of the certification body but not exceed 3 months.
Corrective action(s) for minor non-conformities shall be verified no later
than during the next audit.
3-2-4-4Corrective action(s) for all non-conformities identified in initial surveillance
and re-certification audits shall be verified by the certification body by site
visit or other appropriate forms of verification.
.
3-3 On-site sampling review
3-3-1 Methodologies of sampling review

643-3-1-1 Requirements of on-site sampling review shall be applied theorganization stipulated in Attachment 2-8: Requirement forMultisite CoC organization.
3-3-1-2 The sample for initial, regular as well as renewal review shall be
determined separately for sites using different CoC methods(physical separation and percentage based methods). The sample
shall be representative concerning differences in sites’ processes
and activities which are subject to the CoC certification.
3-3-1-3 The sample should be partly selective based on the factors set out
the following aspects and partly non selective, and should result ina range of different sites being selected, without excluding therandom element of sampling:a) results of internal monitoring or previous certification
b)
c)
d)
e)

evaluation
records of complaints and other relevant aspects of corrective
and preventive action
significant variations in the size of the site and in production
processes of the sites
significant variations in production processes of the sites
modifications since the last certification evaluationf) geographical dispersion
3-3-1-4 Taking into account the criteria stipulated in 3-3-1-3 above, theremainder of the sample should be selected so that the differenced
among the sites selected over the period of validity of thecertificate is as large as possible.
3-3-2 Size of sample
3-3-2-1 The certification body shall have documented procedures fordetermining the sample to be taken when auditing sites as part ofthe evaluation and certification of a multi-site client organization.
3-3-2-2 In the event that application of the certification body’s procedure
results in a smaller sample than would result from the applicationof the guidance set out the following, the certification body shallrecord the reasons justifying this and demonstrate that it isoperating in accordance with its approved procedure:a) initial evaluation: the size of the sample should be the squareroot of the number of remote sites: (y=√x), rounded to theupper whole number.

65b) regular evaluation: the size of the annual sample should be thesquare root of the number of remote sites with 0.6 as acoefficient: (y=0.6√x), rounded to the upper whole number.
c) renewal evaluation: the size of the sample should be the same
as for an initial review. Nevertheless, where the management
system has proved to be effective over a period of three years,
the size of the sample could be reduced by a factor 0.8: (y=0.8√x), rounded to the upper whole number.
3-3-2-3 The requirements 3-3-2-2 above are based on the example of a low
to medium risk activity with less than 50 employees at each site.
Consequently such number shall be considered as minimum
number of sites to be visited per review.
3-3-2-4 The size of the sample should be increased where the certification
body’s risk analysis of the activity covered by the quality
management system subject to certification indicated special
circumstances in respective factors like:a) the size of the sites and number of employees;b) the complexity and variations of raw material flow and CoC
methods;c) variations in the application of CoC methods and definitions of
the raw material origin;d) level of risk of procurement of raw material from controversial
sources;e) records of complaints and other relevant aspects of corrective
and preventive action;f) any multinational aspects;g) results of internal review.
3-3-3 Additional sites
On the application of a new group of sites to join an already certified
multi-site network, each new group of sites should be considered as anindependent set for the determination of the sample size. After inclusionof the new group in the certification, the new sites should be combinedwith the previous ones for determining the sample size for future regular
evaluation or renewal evaluation.
3-4 Certificate
3-4-1 Issuance of certificate
The certification body shall issue the CoC certificate documents to the66

client who meet the requirements stipulated in Section 2 in Article 11 of
the Operational Rules. The certification body shall inform thecancellation of the CoC certificate to the client stipulated in Section 2 inArticle 16 of the Operational Rules.
3-4-2 Items mentioned in certificate
The certificate document as official certification under the certification
requirements shall include at least the following items:a) the certification bodyb) name and address of CoC organizationc) category of business in which CoC is subject to certificationd) scope of the certification grantede) term of validity
3-4-3 Category of business certified
The certificate document shall state the category of business certified
stipulated in Section 1 in Article 13 of the Operational Rules.
3-4-4 Scope of the certification
The certificate document shall state the following items:a) CoC principles, indicators and guidelines appliedb) CoC method appliedc) applied definition of the origind) category of products certified
3-4-5 Term of validity
The term of validity of CoC certificate shall be Article 12 of the
Operational Rules.
3-5 Report of evaluation result to SGECThe certification body shall report its evaluation result to SGEC as stipulated in
Section 2 of Article 11, Section 2 of Article 12, Section 2 of Article 14, Section
2 of Article 15 and Section2 of Article 16 in the Operational Rules.
3-6 Regular evaluation
3-6-1 Frequency of regular evaluation
Frequency of regular evaluation shall be stipulated in Section 1 of Article
14 of the Operational Rules.
3-6-2 Number of personnel necessary for regular evaluation
Certification body shall decide the number of personnel necessary for
document review and on-site review in regular evaluation stipulated in
Attachment 2-5 “Regular evaluation report”. On-site review shall bemandatory for Item 2.(1) of Attachment 2-5 “On-site evaluation of the67

status of separation/storage of the certified products/material”.
3-6-3 Venue of regular on-site evaluation
The evaluation shall be carried out at the client organization’s site as
stipulated in Article 14 of the Operational Rules. The regular evaluation
at the client organization’s premises can be replaced by other evaluation
techniques, such as documentation and records evaluation and the period
between on-site evaluation shall not exceed two years where:a) the certification body can demonstrate that evaluation techniques useddeliver sufficient confidence in the certified entity’s compliance withthe certification criteria,b) the client organization is a micro enterprise (less than ten employees
or annual turnover less than 200 million yen),c) no nonconformity was raised during the previous initial, regular or
renewal evaluation,d) the client organization procurement does not include high risk
supplies, ande) the client organization provides the certification body with all theindividual records required to be kept by the CoC standard or a list of
all the records which allow the certification body to establish an
independent sampling.
In case on-site evaluation is replaced by documentation and records
evaluation, items stipulated in Item 2. of Attachment 2-5 shall be referred
including photos and movies.
3-6-4 Exemption from regular on-site evaluation
The on-site evaluation can also be replaced by documentation and records
evaluation where the client organization has not procured and has notmade claims on certified raw material. The period between the on-site
evaluation shall however not exceed two years.
Supplementary article 1
The certification bodies in 1-1 of this Attachment shall be the ones notified by Article 19of the Operational Rules. However, once the SGEC scheme is mutually recognized by
the PEFC, the certification bodies shall be accredited by accreditation bodies that are
signatories of the Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) for product certificationof IAF based upon ISO/IEC 17065 as well as notified by the SGEC.
Supplementary article 2

68

The Board of Directors, on 1st July 2014, has decided to amend this Attachment.
Notwithstanding this amendment, those certification bodies, which need preoperational
works to fulfill this amendment, can set six month transitional period.
Supplementary article 3
The Board of Directors, on 1st April 2015, has decided to amend this Attachment.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Attachment may be effective duringtransitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC. However, therelevant rules related to the standard settings for regular or renewal review for FM
certification in Document 3 and CoC certification in Document 4 may be effective up
until 30 September 2015.
Supplementary article 4This revised document will be effective from 1st January 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisitionof PEFC Endorsement as transit period, during which the previous document (whichbecame effective on 1st April 2015 or 1st July 2014) maintains its validity.
Supplementary article 5This document (amended on 10th February 2010) will be effective from 1st April 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisitionof PEFC Endorsement as transit period, during which the previous document (whichbecame effective on 1st April 2015 or 1st July 2014) maintains its validity.

69

Attachment 2-10-1-1

Requirements for Accreditation of SGEC Certification Body
SGEC requires that forest management certification and CoC certification shall be carried out
by certification bodies fulfilling the following requirements.
(1) The certification bodies shall be accredited by accreditation bodies that are
signatories of the Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) for productcertification of International Accreditation Forum (IAF) as being in conformity with
the international standard for the product certification body (ISO/IEC 17065).
(2) The scope of the accreditation shall explicitly cover the SGEC Forest Management
Certification Standard (SGEC Document 3), SGEC CoC Standard (SGEC Document
4) and related Attachments in their valid version and/or with reference to any futurechanges and amendments adopted by SGEC and presented at SGEC website
http://www.sgec-eco.org.
The scope of accreditation shall also explicitly state ISO/IEC 17065 and otherrequirements against which the certification body has been assessed.
(3) The certification bodies shall be registered as a corporation in Japan.
Supplementary article
This document (approved 10th February 2016) will be effective from 1st April 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.

70

Attachment 2-10-1-2

Requirements for Notification of SGEC Certification Body

A SGEC certification body shall be notified by SGEC. The SGEC notification requires that thecertification body shall have a valid accreditation recognized by SGEC. The certification bodyshall provide SGEC with information on granted certifications as specified by SGEC.
Note: The information on granted certifications usually includes identification of the certificate
holder, scope of the granted certifications, certified area of forest management certification andannual CoC organization`s turnover where used for determination of the SGEC notification fee.
SGEC notification may require the certification body to pay a SGEC notification fee as
specified by SGEC.
Supplementary article
This document (approved 10th February 2016) will be effective from 1st April 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.

71

Attachment 2-10-2

Multi-site chain of custody certification
This document defines the requirements for the certification bodies operating chain of custodycertification for multi-site organizations with a network of sites which meet the requirements
given in SGEC Attachment 2-8 Requirement for Multi-site CoC organization
1 Scope
The requirements for certification bodies operating chain of custody certification for multisite organizations is defined by this document as well as SGEC Document 2-10
“Requirements for Certification Bodies operating certification under SGEC certification
scheme”.

1

Eligibility criteria for the certification body

The certification body shall provide information to the applicant organization about theeligibility criteria laid down herein and in SGEC Attachment 2-8 to the SGEC Document2
before starting the evaluation process, and should not proceed with the evaluation if any of theeligibility criteria for the multi-site organization are not met. Before starting the evaluation
process, the certification body should inform the applicant organization that the certificate
will not be issued if, during the audit, non-conformities in relation to these eligibility criteria
are found.

2-1 Contract review
2-1-1 The certification body’s procedures shall ensure that the initial contract review
identifies the complexity and scale of the activities which is subject to the certification of thechain of custody, and any differences among operation sites as the basis for determining thelevel of sampling stipulated in III3-3 of SGEC Attachment 2-10.
2-1-2 The certification body shall identify the central function of the applicant organization as
its contractual partner in conducting the work of the certification. The agreement shall allow
the certification body to carry out the certification activities at all sites of the multi-site72

applicant organization.
2-1-3 The certification body shall analyze, in each individual case, to what extent sites of anorganization have the flow of similar raw materials that enables implementation of the chainof custody to be applied in a similar manner. The similarity of the sites included in the multisite applicant organization shall be taken into consideration when applying the sampling
procedures.

2-1-4 The certification body shall retain a record to demonstrate that the required activities in
2.1.1, 2.1.2 and 2.1.3 have been implemented.
2.2 Audit
2.2.1 The certification body shall have documented procedures to deal with audits under its
multi-site procedure. Such audit procedures, including documentation and records review, onsite audits, etc, shall establish the way the certification body is able to confirm, inter alia, thatthe chain of custody requirements are actually applied to all the sites and that all the criteria inthe chain of custody standard, including SGEC Attachment 2-8 are met.
2.2.2 If more than one audit team is involved in the evaluation/surveillance of the network,
the certification body shall designate a unique audit leader whose responsibility is toconsolidate the findings from all the audit teams and to produce a synthesis report.
2.3 Non-conformities
2.3.1 When non-conformities are found at any individual site either through the applicant
organization’s internal auditing or from auditing by the certification body, an investigation
shall take place to determine whether the other sites may be affected. Therefore, thecertification body shall request the applicant organization to review the non-conformities inorder to determine whether they could cause overall deficiency of the chain of custody byaffecting all the sites. If they are found to do so, corrective actions should be taken both at thecentral office and at the individual sites. If they are found not to do so, the applicant
organization shall be able to demonstrate to the certification body the justification for limiting
its follow-up actions.
2.3.2 The certification body shall require evidence of these actions and increase its sampling
frequency until it is satisfied that control is re-established.

73

2.3.3 During the decision making process, if any site has a non-conformity, certification shallbe suspended to the whole multi-site applicant organization until satisfactory corrective
actions are taken.
2.3.4 It shall not be admissible that, in order to overcome the obstacle raised by the existenceof a nonconformity at a single site, the applicant organization seeks to exclude "problematic"site from the scope of the certification during the certification process.
2.4 Certificates
2.4.1 One single certificate shall be issued with the name and address of the central office of
the applicant organization. A list of all the sites, to which the certificate relates, shall be
issued, either on the certificate itself or in an appendix, or as otherwise referred to in thecertificate. The scope or other reference on the certificate shall make clear that the certified
activities are performed by the network of sites in the list.
If the individual sites are applying different chain of custody methods or definitions of theorigin the raw material, it shall be clearly stated in the certificate or appendix for theindividual sites that the corresponding chain of custody standards are applied..
2.4.2 A sub-certificate may be issued to the organization for each site covered by thecertification on condition that it contains the same scope, or a sub-scope of that scope, andincludes a clear reference to the main certificate.
2.4.3 The certificate will lose its total validity, if the central office or any of the sites does not
fulfil the necessary criteria for the maintaining certificate (see 2.2 above).
2.4.4 The list of sites shall be kept updated by the certification body. In order for that, thecertification body shall request the organization to inform it about the closure, establishment,or change in activities of the sites. Failure to provide such information will be considered by
the certification body as a misuse of the certificate, and it will act consequently according to
its procedures.
2.4.5 Additional sites can be added to an existing certificate as the result of surveillance/reassessment of activities. The certification body shall have a procedure for the addition of
new sites.
Note: A temporary site set up by an applicant organization in order to perform specific works
shall not to be treated as a part of a multi-site operation. Any sampling of the activities

74performed at such sites will be for the purpose of confirming the activities of the permanent
office whose chain of custody is subject to certification, not for the purpose of granting
certificates to the temporary sites themselves.

3
Audit times
3.1 The certification body shall be able to demonstrate its justification for the time spent on
multi-site audits in terms of its overall policy for allocation of audit time.
3.2 The minimum audit time to be spent for each individual site as a part of the initial,
surveillance and re-certification audits is the same as for the initial audit defined in clauseⅢ3.2.2 of SGEC Attachment 2-10. Reductions can be applied by taking into account theclauses of the chain of custody standard that are not relevant to sites and are only examined at
the central office.
3.3 No reduction is permitted for the central office.
Supplementary Article
This document will be effective from 1st January 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of time until the acquisition of PEFC
Endorsement as transit period.

75

Attachment 2-10-3:
Qualification requirements for personnel of evaluation team
1. Scope:
This attachment shall define the additional qualification requirements for personnel of
evaluation team in addition to the requirements defined in Attachment 2-10 and 2-13 as
well as ISO/IEC 17065.
2. Personnel engaged in evaluation:
The certification bodies shall ensure to use competent personnel who have adequate
technical know-how on all certification processes.
3. Auditors:
The certification bodies shall ensure auditors shall have adequate knowledge and skill
associated with the requirements defined in ISO 19011.
3-1 Education:
The certification bodies shall ensure that auditors shall participate in an education
program stipulated in Attachment 2-13-1. After initial participation in the above
program, the certification bodies shall ensure that auditors shall participate insubsequent program in every two years.
3-2 Audit training or experience:
The certification bodies shall ensure that auditors have participated in the following
training or have performed the following FM or CoC audits.
3-2-1 Audit training:
The certification bodies shall ensure that auditors have participated in the
training program stipulated in Attachment 2-13-1.
3-2-2 Audit experience:
The certification bodies shall ensure that auditors have performed FM or CoC
audits for a first qualification or for maintain the qualification of the auditor as
stipulated in Attachment 2-13-1.
3-3 Competencies:
3-3-1 The certification bodies shall ensure that auditors demonstrate ability to apply
terminologies, knowledge, understanding and skills related to Document 2, 3 and4.

76

3-3-2 The certification bodies shall ensure that auditors demonstrate ability to apply
knowledge and skills in the following areas:a) audit principles, procedures and techniques: to ensure that audits are
conducted in a consistent and systematic manner.
b) organization situations including organizational size, structure, functions
and relationships, general business processes and knowledge of the clientorganization: to enable the auditor to comprehend the organization’s
operational context.
c) 2-5 Normative references of international conventions and domestic acts inDocument 3 and 2-9 Controversial sources in Document 4: to enable theauditors to review the procedures to minimize the risk that the clientorganization’s procured material originates in controversial sources throughrecognizing international conventions and domestics acts related.
3-3-3 The certification bodies shall provide evidence of annual monitoring of FM or
CoC auditors applying methods such as audit witness, reviewing audit reports orclient organizations’ feedback, etc. based on the frequency of their usage and thelevel of risk linked to their activities. In particular, the certification bodies shallreview the competence of its personnel in the light of their performance in order
to identify training needs.
4. Audit team:
The audit team shall be comprised of by auditor(s) fulfilling the requirements defined in 3
above.
Supplementary article
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2015.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Operational Rules may be effective
during transitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.

77

Attachment 2-11:
Requirements for Operational Rules of SGEC
Preface:
The document covers requirements for Operational Rules of SGEC.
1.

Scope:The document covers requirements for Operational Rules of SGEC in the following
items:(1) SGEC notification of certification bodies,(2) SGEC Logo usage licensing,(3) Operation of the SGEC Registration System,(4) Complaint and dispute procedures.

2.

SGEC notification of certification bodies:
2-1 The SGEC shall have written procedures for the SGEC notification which ensure
that:
(1)

the SGEC notified certification body is meeting the SGEC’s requirements forcertification bodies,(2)

the scope of the SGEC notification, i.e. type of certification (forest
management or CoC certification) and certification standards by the
notification, is clearly defined,(3)

the SGEC notification may be terminated by the notifying body in the case of
the certification body’s non adherence to the conditions of the SGEC
notification or in the case of the cancellation of the contract between the
SGEC and the notified certification body,(4)

the SGEC notification is based on a written contract between SGEC and the
SGEC notified certification body,(5)

the SGEC notified certification body provides the SGEC with information on
certified entities as required by the SGEC Registration System,(6)
3.

the SGEC notification does not include any discriminatory measures,

Issuance of SGEC Logo usage licenses
3-1 The SGEC shall have written procedures for the SGEC Logo licensing which
ensure that:

78

(1)

the SGEC Logo usage license is based on a written contract between the
SGEC and the SGEC Logo user,(2)

the SGEC logo user complies with the SGEC Logo usage rules (Attachment
2-2),

(3)

the scope of the SGEC Logo usage (logo usage groups) is clearly defined,(4)

the SGEC Logo usage license can be terminated by the SGEC in the case of
the SGEC Logo user’s non adherence to the conditions of the SGEC logo
usage rules (Attachment 2-2)

(5)where unauthorized use has taken place, the SGEC Logo usage license may
provide for contractual penalty, unless the SGEC Logo user proves that such

unauthorized use was unintentional.
3-2 The SGEC shall have a mechanism for the investigation and enforcement of thecompliance with SGEC Logo usage rules (Attachment 2-2) and shall take actions,
including legal if necessary, to protect the SGEC Logo trademark.
4.

SGEC Registration System:
4-1 The SGEC shall register:(1) holders of SGEC forest management and CoC certificates issued by thecertification body with the notification issued by the SGEC, including
information on SGEC certified products,(2)

SGEC Logo users with a license issued by the SGEC,(3) SGEC notified certification bodies.
4-2 The SGEC shall ensure that the collected data can be made publicly available.
5.

Complaints and dispute procedures:
The SGEC shall establish a permanent contact point for dealing with complaints andhave written procedures which ensure that the followings. Specific procedures shall be
stipulated in Attachment 2-11-1 Complaints and dispute procedures.
Upon receipt of the complaint, the procedures shall provide for:(1) acknowledgement to the complainant the receipt of the complaint,(2) gathering and verification of all necessary information, validation and impartial
evaluation of the complaint, and decision making on the complaint,(3) formal communication of the decision on the complaint and the complaint dealing
process to the complainant and concerned parties (stakeholders),(4) appropriate corrective and preventive actions.

79Supplementary article
The Board of Directors, on 1st April 2015, has decided to amend this Attachment.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Attachment may be effective duringtransitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.

80

Attachment 2-11-1
Procedures for dealing with complaints and disputes against SGEC scheme
In addition to the articles stipulated in Chapter 7 of the Operational Rules, the procedures for
dealing with complaints and disputes against SGEC scheme shall be stipulated in this
attachment.
1.

Objective
The objective of this attachment is to describe the procedures for the SGEC to deal withcomplaints and disputes against SGEC scheme in a timely and impartial manner.

2.

Basic policy
SGEC is committed to improve awareness of SGEC scheme through sincere dealing withand full explanation to the complaints against SGEC scheme.

3.

Structures dealing with complaints
3-1 The matters related to procedures for dealing with complaints shall be handled bySecretariat stipulated in Chapter 10 of the Statutes, The SGEC shall establish apermanent contact point for dealing with complaints in Secretariat.
3-2 Auditors stipulated in Article 27 of the Operational Rules shall be responsible for
dealing with complaints. The secretariat shall provide its supportive work for
Auditors. Mandate of Auditors, Board of Directors as well as President shall be
stipulated in Chapter 7 of the Operational Rules.

4.

Process
The process for dealing with complaints shall be as follows:
4-1 acknowledgement to the complainant the receipt of the complaint
4-2 gathering and verification of all necessary information, validation and impartial
evaluation of the complaint, and decision making on the complaint
4-3 formal communication of the decision on the complaint and the complaint dealing
process to the complainant and concerned parties (stakeholders),
4-4 appropriate corrective and preventive actions.

5.

Access to the contact point dealing with compliant
5-1 A permanent contact point for dealing with complaints shall be publicly announced
through web site.

815-2 For easy access and submission by the complainant, a permanent contact point shallprovide various access easy channels such as telephone, facsimile, postal mail and email.
5-3 Once the complaint is formally accepted, a permanent contact point shall issue its
acknowledge to the complainant the receipt of the complaint with its contents.
During investigation and resolution process, a permanent contact point should informthe status of the complaint to the complainant as appropriate. All actions andcommunications during investigation and resolution process shall be archived.
5-4 During investigation and resolution process, the SGEC shall undertake a thoroughinvestigation and seek a resolution in a timely and impartial manner as well as
through the personal information obtained shall be protected properly.
6.

Internal reporting process within SGEC
6-1 Once the complaint is acknowledged, Secretariat shall report the contents of thecomplaint to President and Auditors in a timely manner.
6-2 Contents mentioned above shall include the followings:a) name of the complainantb) address of the complainantc) method of communication with the complainantd) outline of the complaine) background and status of the complain

7.

Complain investigation and resolution process
7-1 Auditors shall decide appropriate measures (including precautionary measures) tosettle complaints after sufficient consideration on the related matters and consultation
with the Board of Directors based on Article 27 of Document 2.
7-2 President shall carry out the measures decided according to the previous section
promptly.
7-3 President shall inform the complainant and other stakeholders about the measuresconcerned promptly.
7-4 President shall archive the process and report it to the Board of Directors, Auditors aswell as General Meeting of Members.

8.

Termination of resolution process
8-1 The resolution process shall be terminated under the following conditions:a) Complaint resolved mutuallyb) Complaint cannot be resolved mutually after resolving process828-2 In case of b) above, the case of the complaint deems to be forwarded to the court inJapan as necessary.
Supplementary article
The Board of Directors, on 1st April 2015, has decided to amend this Attachment.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Attachment may be effective duringtransitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.
Supplementary article 2This revised document will be effective from 1st January 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.

83

Attachment 2-12

SGEC Standard Setting – Requirements

Introduction
This document defines the requirements that are necessary for fair, just and open standards
setting or their revisions under appropriate procedures in relation to the certification standards
and related normative documents (called “Administration Documents, hereafter) given in
Chapter 2 “ Operation Rules of Forest Management Certification and Forest Products Chainof Custody Certification by Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC).”
1. Scope
This document defines the requirements for setting or revising forest management standard,
chain of custody standard and related documents (called “standard/normative documents”
hereafter).
In case where new international conventions have been agreed, domestic systems have beenrevised, or new knowledge has been publicized in relation to the forest management systems;
and a revision is considered necessary, the revision of the certification standards shall be madespeedily.
In particular, with regard to the issue concerning Ainu in relation with ILO169 and the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, information sharing with the relevantorganizations should take place whilst consideration on and coordination with the national
government as well as the relevant administrative bodies should be observed carefully.

2 Normative references
For the purpose of this document, the following documents are applied.
ISO/IEC Guide 59:1994 Code of Good Practice for Standardization
ISO/IEC Guide 2: Standardization and related activities — General vocabulary
2 Terms and definitions84

2-1 Consensus
General agreement characterized by the absence of sustained opposition to substantial issues
by any important part of the concerned interest and by a process that involves seeking to take
into account the views of all parties concerned and to reconcile any conflicting arguments.
Note: Consensus need not imply unanimity (ISO/IEC Guide 2)
3-2 Disadvantaged stakeholder
A stakeholder who might be financially or otherwise disadvantaged in participating in thestandard-setting work.
3-3 Enquiry draft
Proposed document that is available for public consultation.
3-4 Final draft
A proposed document that is available for formal approval.
3-5 Key stakeholder
A stakeholder whose participation is critical to the results of the standard-setting work.
3-6 Normative document
A document that provides rules, guidelines, etc. for forest management system
3-7 Revision
Introduction of all necessary changes to the substance and presentation of a normative
document.
Note: The results of the revision are presented by issuing a new edition of the normative
document (ISO/IEC Guide 2).
3-8 Review
Activity of checking a normative document to determine whether it is to be reaffirmed,changed or withdrawn.
3-9 Stakeholder
A person, group or organization with an interest in the subject of the standardization.

3-10 Standard85

A document that provides rules, guidelines, etc. related to SGEC, established by consensus
and approved by the Board of Directors of SGEC
3-11 Standardizing body
The standardizing body of this document is Sustainable Green Eco-system Council.

3-12 Working draft
Proposed document that is available for internal discussions within the Expert Committee(working group/committee).
4 Standardizing body
4-1 The standardizing body shall have written procedures for standard-setting activities andtake actions in compliance with the stipulations included in this document.
4-2 SGEC shall make its standard-setting procedures publicly available and shall regularly
review its standard-setting procedures including consideration of comments fromstakeholders.
4-3 SGEC shall keep records relating to the standard-setting process providing evidence ofcompliance with the requirements of this document. The records shall be kept for a minimumof five years and shall be available to interested parties upon request.
4-4 SGEC shall establish the following committee/groups as permanent committees/groups
responsible for standard-setting activities.
Upon setting/revising the standards, the Expert Committee develops the final draft, and theBoard of Directors approves it after hearing opinions of the Counselors Committee. In casewhere any opinions are presented on the final draft as a result of the deliberation by theCouncilors Committee, Board of Directors refers the final draft to the Expert Committee,
which undertakes the works necessary for achieving a consensus by way of events such as
holding a joint conference with the Counselors Committee and re-develops the final draft for
an approval of the Board of Directors.
4-4-1 Board of Directors
The Board of Directors makes decisions on the administrative matters defined in the article 35
of SGEC Document 1. The directors are elected by the General Meeting of Members based

86upon the article 25 of SGEC Document 1. Upon the election of the directors, it is consideredthat the numbers of directors representing each of the three areas, namely academic community,
industrial community and NPOs/environmental NGOs, should be almost equal, so that fair andimpartial deliberation is performed over various issues.
4-4-2 Counselors Committee
The Counselors Committee provides, based upon the article 52 of SGEC Document 1, the Boardof Directors with its opinions by request of consultation from the President.
In order to seek opinions from the academic, environmental or citizens’/consumers’ points ofview, Councilors are elected among eligible individuals from the academic community,
NPOs/environmental NGOs and etc.
4-4-3 Certification Management Committee
Certification Management Committee undertakes research and deliberation on the situation of
the management and administration, including the feasibility of the implementation of thecertification system, and provides the Chairman with its opinions.
The members of Certification Management Committee are elected by the President based upon
the approval of Board of Directors from individuals with the knowledge of the certification
system management among the academics, those experienced in forest management andNPOs/environmental NGOs.
4-4-4 Expert Committee
The Expert Committee undertakes researches on the technical issues by request of consultationfrom the President based upon the article 25 of SGEC Document, and this document positions
it as an organization undertaking the development of the final draft of the standard (revised)draft. The President appoints the committee members so as to meet the under-mentioned
requirements regarding its composition.
(a) To be accessible to materially and directly affected stakeholders(b) To have balanced representation and decision-making by stakeholder categories relevant tothe subject matter and geographical scope of the standard where single concerned interests
shall not dominate nor be dominated in the process(c) To include stakeholders with expertise relevant to the subject matter of the standard, thosethat are materially affected by the standard, and those that can influence the implementationof the standard. The materially affected stakeholders shall represent a meaningful segmentof the participants.
(d) For the purpose of the development of the final draft the Expert Committee shall be apractical organization with the composition of well-balanced members who meet the87requirements given in the preceding clause such as those individuals who are familiar withthe practical matters of each relevant industries (industrial community), those with theknowledge and experience of the certification system among the academics (academic
community) and NPOs/environmental NGOs. In addition, the amendment shall be made to
the appointment of the members of the Expert Committee (including the members of theworking group established within the Expert Committee) through the procedure given in theclause 5-4.
4-4-5 Stakeholders meeting
The stakeholders meeting is convened by the President based upon the Article 3 of SGEC
Document 2 for hearing their opinions widely. This meeting shall provide those stakeholders
who are not able to participate in the Expert Committee for various reasons with anopportunity for presenting their opinions. The result of the deliberation of such opinions
shall be considered in the deliberation by the Expert Committee. In this respect, SGEC shallendeavor to hear opinions of the stakeholders of various areas by the use of electronic mails
or any other appropriate means as the location of the stakeholders’ residents ranges widely.
4-5 SGEC shall make accessible the procedure dealing with complaints on the contents andprocedure of standard setting. In the event of a complaint being made, SGEC shall take thefollowings measures based upon SGEC Attachment 2-11-1.
(a) to acknowledge to the complainant the receipt of the complaint(b) to collect and verify all necessary information regarding the complaint, to undertake athorough investigation and objective evaluation of the subject of the complaint and to
make a decision on the complaint.
(c) to inform the complainant about the outcomes of the complaint resolution process.
4-6 All inquiries and complaints regarding the standard setting shall be addressed to the
SGEC secretariat.
5 Standard setting process
Setting or revising standards shall follow the process given in the aforementioned clause 4.4.
In this respect, the process of the development of the final draft by the Expert Committee
shall be based upon the following.
5-1 SGEC shall appoint the members of the Expert Committee among stakeholders relevantto the objectives and scope of the standard-setting work.

885-2 SGEC shall, after conducting stakeholder mapping, identify key stakeholders in the fieldof forest management, timber production, timber processing, marketing, exports, timber
consumption, social and environmental aspects, etc., including intelectual or academic experts,
and/or disadvantaged stakeholders related to the standard-setting and amendment concernedsuch as small-sized forest owners, timber processors and local stakeholders (including Ainurelated organizations in case of Hokkaido), among stakeholders listed in the stakeholder
mapping.
The participation and contribution in the standard-setting activities by those key anddisadvantaged stakeholders shall be sought proactively through identifying the constraints suchas geographical and other conditions in which they are placed and taking measures such as email, FAX, participation through organizations to which the stakeholders belong in order toaddress those constraints.
5-3 SGEC, upon setting up standards, shall make a public announcement of the start of thestandard-setting process, including an invitation for participation on its website or throughsuitable media such as e-mail, fax in a timely manner to afford stakeholders an opportunity
for meaningful contributions.
The aforementioned announcement and invitation shall include:(a) information about the objectives, scope and the steps of the standard-setting process andits timetable,(b) information about opportunities for stakeholders to participate in the process,(c) an invitation to stakeholders to nominate their representative(s) to the Expert Committee.
The invitation to disadvantaged and key stakeholders shall be made in a manner so that it
ensures that the information reaches intended recipients and in a format that is
1understandable(d) an invitation of comments on the scope and the standard-setting(e) explanation on standard-setting procedures which is publicly available.
5-4 SGEC shall review the standard-setting process based on comments received from thepublic announcement and adjust the composition of the Expert Committee members based onreceived nominations for the Expert Committee members (to include “members of theworking group established within the Expert Committee” hereafter). The acceptance andrefusal of nominations shall be justifiable in relation to the requirements for balanced
representation of the working group/committee and resources available for the standardsetting.

89

5-5 The work of the working group shall be organized in an open and transparent mannerwhere:(a) working drafts shall be available to all members of the Expert Committee,(b) all members of the Expert Committee shall be provided with meaningful opportunities tocontribute to the development or revision of the standard and submit comments to theworking drafts, and(c) comments and views submitted by any member of the Expert Committee shall beconsidered in an open and transparent way and their resolution and proposed changes shallbe recorded.
5-6 Upon the completion of the development of the enquiry draft by the Expert Committee,
SGEC shall organize a public consultation on the enquiry draft and shall ensure that:(a) the start and the end of the public consultation is announced in a timely manner insuitable media,(b) the invitation of disadvantaged and key stakeholders shall be made by means that ensurethat the information reaches its recipient,(c) the enquiry draft is publicly available and accessible,(d) the public consultation is conducted for at least 60 days,(e) all comments received are considered by the Expert Committee in an objective manner,(f) a synopsis of received comments compiled from material issues, including the results of
their consideration, should be publicly available, for example on a website.
5-7 SGEC shall organize pilot testing of the new standards in case where the pilot testing is
judged necessary, and the results of the pilot testing shall be considered in the deliberation of
the Expert Committee.
5-8 Upon developing the final draft to be submitted to the Board of Directors for its approval,
the final draft shall be based upon consensus of the Expert Committee, with balanced
composition of members from the different fields of stakeholders. The Expert Committee canutilize the following alternative process to establish whether there is opposition:(a) a face-to-face meeting where there is a verbal yes/no vote, show of hands for a yes/novote; a statement from the Chairman where there are no opposition vote; a formal balloting
process,90

(b) a telephone conference meeting where there is a verbal yes/no vote,(c) an e-mail meeting where a request for agreement or objection is provided to members withthe members providing a written response (a proxy for a vote), or(d) combination thereof.

5-9 In any case that a statement of opposition to an important part of the concerned interests
to a substantive issue exists, the issue shall be resolved by establishing a working group
participated by the stakeholder who expressed the opposition and the working group
undertakes investigations, deliberations and any other appropriate actions.

5-10 The document concerning the standard setting process shall be publicly available.

5-11 The Board of Directors shall officially approve the standard/ normative document, which
has been shown to reach a consensus by the Expert Committee, through hearing the opinionsof the Counselors Committee members.
5-12 The officially approved standards/normative documents according to the preceding clauseshall be published in a timely manner and made publicly available.
6 Revision of standards/normative documents
6-1 The certification standards shall be reviewed and revised at intervals that do not exceed afive-year period. The procedures for the revision shall follow those set out in the preceding
chapter.
6-2 The application date shall not exceed a period of one year from the publication of thestandard.
6-3 The revised standard shall be publicized defining the application date and transition date.
6-4 The transition date shall not exceed a period of one year except in justified exceptional
circumstances where the implementation of the revised standards/normative documents
requires a longer period.

91Supplementary Article
The Board of Directors, on 1st April 2015, has decided to amend this Attachment.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Attachment may be effective duringtransitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.
Supplementary Article 2This document will be effective from 1st January 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.
Supplementary article 3This document (amended on 10th February 2016) will be effective from 1st April 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of the time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.

92

Attachment 2-13
Certification and Accreditation Procedures
Preface:
FM certificate and CoC certificate issued by SGEC rely on international certification andaccreditation procedures as defined by the International Standard Organization (ISO) and theInternational Accreditation Forum (IAF).
This document defines the certification and accreditation procedures for FM and CoC
certifications adopted by SGEC.
1.

Scope of the document:This document specifies the general competence requirements and tasks of certification
bodies when applied to FM and CoC certification.

2.

Certification bodies
2-1 Competence of certification bodies
2-1-1 Certifications shall be carried out by impartial, independent third parties thatcannot be involved in the standard setting process as governing or decision
making bodies, or in the forest management and are independent of certified
entity.
2-1-2 Certification bodies shall fulfill the following qualifications:
2-1-2-1 requirements defined in ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity assessment –Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services
within the scope of SGEC scheme.
2-1-2-2 requirements defined in Chapter 5 of the Operational Rules andAttachment 2-10 and other related Attachments.
2-1-2-3 a good understanding of the SGEC system against which it carries out
FM or CoC certification.
2-1-2-4 a good understanding of the PEFC system under which the SGEC
system is accredited.
2-1-2-5 a good understanding of forest management, on its economic, socialand environmental impacts, of forest based product procurement andprocessing, material flows and wood used constructions as well as ofrelevant acts and regulations (in case of Hokkaido region, Ainu groups
are included).

93

2-2 Auditors (“auditors” are the same as “personnel of evaluation team” stipulated in
Attachment 2-10)
2-2-1 Certification bodies have the responsibility to use competent auditors thathave adequate technical know-how on the certification process and issues
related to FM or CoC certification. The auditors shall fulfill the requirement
stipulated in Attachment 2-10 and other related Attachments.
2-2-2 In addition to fulfill general criteria for quality and environmental
management system auditors as defined in ISO 19011, the auditors shallfulfill the following additional requirements:a) educational programs related to certification standards
The certification bodies shall ensure that auditors engaged in FM
certification have participated FM certification educational programs
acknowledged by SGEC within last two years and that auditors engaged in
CoC certification have participated CoC certification educational programs
acknowledged by SGEC within last two years.
b) auditing training and experiences
The certification bodies shall ensure that auditors engaged in FM
certification have participated FM certification training courses or actual
FM certification process acknowledged by SGEC and that auditors engaged
in CoC certification have participated CoC certification training courses or
actual CoC certification process acknowledged by SGEC.
3.

Certification procedures
3-1 Certification procedures
The certification body, stipulated in Chapter 5 of the Operational Rules, shall haveestablished internal procedures for FM certification against Chapter 3 of the
Operational Rules and II in Attachment 2-10 and for CoC certification against
Chapter 4 of the Operational Rules and III in Attachment 2-10.
3-2 Notice of the status of certification
The certification body shall inform the SGEC about all issued FM and CoC
certificates and changes concerning validity and scope of these certificates.
3-3 Control of SGEC logo usage
The certification body shall carry out control of SGEC logo usage, as stipulated in
Attachment 2-2, if the certified entity is a SGEC logo user.
3-4 Evaluation

94

Evaluation related to the conformity with the FM standard shall include revelant
information from external parties (e.g. government agencies, community groups,
conservations organizations, etc.) as appropriate.
3-5 Notification of evaluation report
A summary of evaluation report, as stipulated in Attachment 2-3 and 2-7, written by
the certification body, shall be made available to the public. However, the personal
information shall be excluded from the summary above.
4. Accreditation
4-1 Accreditation bodies,
The certification bodies, carrying out FM or CoC certification, shall be accredited bymeeting requirements stipulated in SGEC Document 2, Article 19 and other related
Attachments so as to ensure the credibility of the certification work. An accredited
certificate shall bear an accreditation symbol of the relevant accreditation body.
4-2 Accreditation standard
The certification bodies, carrying out FM or CoC certification, shall be accredited
based on ISO/IEC 17065 in accordance with Article 19 of SGEC Document 2 and therelevant FM or CoC standards shall be covered by the SGEC accreditation scope.
4-3 Accreditation
The certification bodies, in carrying out FM or CoC certification in compliance with
SGEC Document 3 and 4, shall be accredited based on ISO/IEC 17605 in accordancewith Article 19 of SGEC Document 2 and other related Attachments. Detailed
requirements for accreditation of certification bodies are stipulated separately inattachment.
5.

Notification of certification bodies
5-1 Notification of certification bodies
Certification bodies operating FM certificate against SGEC FM principles, indicatorsand guidelines and/or CoC certificate against SGEC CoC guidelines shall apply for
notification according to Article 20 of Document 2 and other related Attachments,
and be notified by the SGEC.
Details are provided in the separate attachment.
5-2 Independence of certification bodies
In order to ensure the independence of certification bodies, the SGEC notification
conditions shall only cover the following items in addition to those stipulated in
Article 19 and 20 of Document 2. The SGEC notification conditions shall notdiscriminate against certification bodies or create trade obstacles.

95a) administrative conditions (e.g. communication of the certification body with the
SGEC, transfer of information, etc.),b) financial conditions (fees imposed on certification entities),c) compliance with requirements for certification bodies verified throughaccreditation as described in 4 above.

Supplementary article
The Board of Directors, on 1st April 2015, has decided to amend this Attachment.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Attachment may be effective duringtransitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.
Supplementary Article 2This document (amended on 12th December 2015) will be effective from 1st January 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.

96

Attachment 2-13-1
Educational programs related to certification standards andauditing training and experiences
1.

2.

Scope:
This attachment shall define the additional requirements for educational programs related
to certification standards and auditing training and experiences defined in 2-2-2 ofAttachment 2-13.
Educational programs related to certification standards:
2-1 Qualifications of trainees:
Trainees of educational programs shall meet the qualifications and requirements
stipulated in II 2-1-1 and/or III 2-1-1 of Attachment 2-10.
2-2 Educational programs:
The programs shall cover the following items:a) requirements defined in ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity assessment – Requirements
for bodies certifying products, processes and servicesb) general criteria for quality and environmental management system auditors as
defined in ISO 19011
c) requirements related to standard settings of SGEC schemed) requirements related to SGEC FM certificatione) requirements related to SGEC CoC certification
2-3 Certificate of educational programs:
The certificate shall be given to those trainees who have fulfilled educational
program related.
2-4 Training programs in certification bodies:Those trainees who have certificates stipulated in 2-3 above as well as meet therequirements stipulated in 3-2-2 below shall have the license to serve as trainer intraining programs in certification bodies.

3.

Audit training and audit experience:
3-1 Audit training:
Audit training for FM and CoC certification shall be conducted programs according
to the ones in 2-2 above with specific certification cases as training materials by thetrainers from the members of Certification Management Committee and Expert
Committee designated by the President.
3-2 Audit experience:97a) Audit experience for qualification of an auditor:
For a first qualification of an FM or CoC auditor, the certification bodies shallensure that the (candidate) auditor within the last three years has performed
relevant audits for at least four client organizations under the leadership of aqualified auditor in line with the requirements for SGEC FM certification or therequirements for SGEC CoC certification (or PEFC CoC of Forest Based
Products-Requirements ST 2002:2013). The number of FM audits in training
can be reduced by two audits for auditors that are qualified for ISO 9001 or
14001 auditing in the forestry sector.
b) Audit experience for maintain the qualification of the auditor:
For maintain the qualification of the auditor, the certification bodies shall ensurethat the auditor has performed a minimum of five external audits in principle per
year where the sum of these audits should cover at least seven man-day of audit
work in principle in line with the relevant requirements above.
Supplementary article
The Board of Directors has decided to amend this Attachment on 1 April 2015.
Notwithstanding this amendment, the previous Operational Rules may be effective
during transitional period of endorsement and mutual recognition by PEFC.

98

SGEC Attachment 2-13-2

Amendment of “Notification of Certification Bodies operating Certification of
SGEC and/or PEFC”

Regarding the above, the guidelines are determined for SGEC and PEFC separately as bellow:○ Notification of Certification Bodies conducting SGEC certification○ Notification of Certification Bodies conducting PEFC certification99

○ Notification of Certification Bodies conducting SGEC certification

1 Objectives
This guideline describes the rules for the SGEC notification of certification bodies which
undertake forest management certification and/or CoC certification accredited by SGEC.
2 ScopeThis guideline covers the SGEC notification of the certification bodies operating forest
management certification and CoC certification as stipulated in the Chapter 3 “Forest
management Certification” and/or the Chapter 4 “Certified Products and Chain of Custody” of
SGEC Document 2 “Operation Rules of Forest Management Certification and Forest Products
Chain of Custody Certification by Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC)”.
3 Conditions for Notification
The certification body applying for SGEC notification shall meet the following conditions inaddition to Article 19 and 20 of SGEC Document Attachment 2-10, 2-10-1-1 and 2-10-1-2 ofDocument 2 as well as [5-2] of Attachment 2-13:
3.1

Information disclosure;

The certification body applying for SGEC notification shall agree to be listed on the publicly
available internet database of SGEC home page including the identification data of thecertification body and/or other data as specified in the “SGEC Attachment 2-2-2” .
3.2 Accreditation of Certification Bodies
3.2.1 The certification bodies applying for forest management certification shall have valid
accreditation issued by the accreditation body by meeting the requirements given in
Article 19 of SGEC Document 2.
3.3

Notification Contract

3.3.1 The certification bodies applying for SGEC forest management certification and CoC
certification shall sign a SGEC notification contract with the SGEC (attached sheet 1).

100

4 Notification issuance procedures

5 Obligations of the certification body with SGEC notification
The certification body with SGEC notification shall;
5.1 carry out the forest management certification and/or CoC certification within the valid
accreditation in accordance with Article 19 of SGEC Document 2.
5.2 inform SGEC of any changes of the content of accreditation or scope of application of theforest management certification and CoC certification.
5.3 provide SGEC with information, without delay, on every forest management and/or CoC
certificate issued to an organization in Japan and/or any changes to already issued
certificates covered by the SGEC notification.

101

5.4 pay SGEC the annual SGEC notification fee defined in another document.
6 Validity of the SGEC not1ification
6.1 The SGEC notification shall be valid during the valid accreditation period of thecertification body.
6.2 SGEC may terminate or suspend the SGEC notification, if the contract of the notification
is violated.

Supplementary article
This document will be effective from 1st January 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.
Supplementary Article 2This document (amended on 10th February 2016) will be effective from 1st April 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.

102

Attached Sheet 1
SGEC Notification Contract
SGEC Notification Contract
Between(1) Sustainable Green Eco-system Council, hereafter the “SGEC”,
And(2) Name and registered address of the certification body (hereafter the notified
certification body)

Whereas name of the certification body is a SGEC Notified Certification Body operating forest
management and/or chain of custody certification which is recognised by SGEC;
Whereas SGEC is the governing bodies of the SGEC certification scheme and is the owner of
the SGEC logo and SGEC claims.;
Whereas the Certification Body is to be allowed to issue the SGEC recognized forest
management certificates and SGEC recognised chain of custody certificates within the scopeof the valid accreditation to organisations which are registered in Japan, as presented at thewebsite of SGEC.
Now, therefore the above said parties agree to the following:

Article 1 Definitions:
1.1 Requirements
1.1.1 Forest Management Certification
This is SGEC Document 3 “Principles, Indicators and Guidelines for SGEC Forest
Management Certification”, which forms part of the contractual documentation and isfound in the annex of this contract. SGEC Document 3 is valid as stated now and as
may be from time to time altered by SGEC.
1.1.2 COC Certification
This is SGEC Document 4 “Guidelines for SGEC COC Certification Requirements for
COC Certification”, which form part of the contractual documentation and are found in
the annex of this contract. SGEC Document 4 is valid as stated now and as may be fromtime to time altered by SGEC.

103

1.2

Certification and Accreditation Procedures
These are SGEC Attachment 2-10, 2-10-1-1 and 2-13, which form part of the contractual
documentation and is found in the annex of this contract. SGEC Attachment 2-10, 2-10-11 and 2-13 are valid as stated now and as may be from time to time altered by SGEC.
1.3 Tariffs of Notification Fee This is the document “Tariffs of Notification Fee of Forest Management Certification
and/or COC Certification”, which forms part of the contractual documentation and is foundin the annex of this contract.

Article 2: Responsibilities of the Certification Body
2.1

The Certification Body is obliged to have and keep valid accreditation issued incompliance with Article 19 of SGEC Document 2 and to inform SGEC immediately about
any changes in the accreditation. The Certification Body will provide, at the beginning ofeach year as well as each time it is so requested, updated evidence that it still meets therequirements of valid accreditation.

2.2 The Certification Body shall carry out the forest management certification against SGEC
Document 3 “Principles, Indicators and Guidelines for SGEC Forest Management
Certification” and SGEC Document 4 “Guidelines for SGEC COC Certification
Requirements for COC Certification” within the scope of the valid accreditation.

2.3

The Certification Body shall provide SGEC immediately with information on every
forest management and/or COC certificates issued to a forest manager, organization orcompany in Japan as well as on any changes to already issued certificates within therange of date as specified by SGEC.

2.4

The Certification Body shall pay SGEC the annual notification fee for every certificate
issued based on an invoice issued by SGEC. The amount of the fees is specified in the
Tariffs of SGEC Notification Fee and can be changed by SGEC during the validity of thecontract. The change concerning the fees takes effect from the date identified in a written
report sent by SGEC to the certification body.

2.5

The Certification Body agrees to be listed on the publicly available SGEC internet
database including the certification body’s identification data and/or other data as104

specified in SGEC Attachment 2.2.2 “SGEC Registration System”

Article 3 Responsibilities of SGEC
3.1 SGEC recognises the certificates issued by the Certification Body in compliance with thiscontract and accepts SGEC logo use applications from holders of the certificates under
the conditions specified by SGEC.
After the mutual recognition between SGEC certification scheme and PEFC
international certification scheme, SGEC accepts PEFC logo use applications fromholders of the certificates under the conditions specified by PEFC Council.
3.2 SGEC is obliged to inform the Certification Body of any changes to the SGEC regulations
and documentation which affect this contract.

Article 4 Contract termination
4.1 SGEC can terminate this contract with three-months prior notice by registered letter.
4.2 SGEC may suspend the contract with the immediate effect if there are reasons to believethat any provision of the SGEC notification contract is not being adhered to.
4.3 Withdrawal, suspension or the end of the validity of the Certification Body’s accreditation
will result in automatic termination of the contract with effect on the same date as thewithdrawal, suspension or the end of the validity of the accreditation.
4.4

The notification fee will not be refunded to the Certification Body in case of temporary
suspension or termination of the contract according to the Article 4.1, 4.2 or 4.3.

4. 5 SGEC is not obliged to pay compensation for any costs or other damages which any
temporary suspension or termination causes to the Certification Body.

Article 5: Governing Law - Jurisdiction
This contract is subject to the law of Japan. Any disputes, or lawsuits concerning this contract
may be brought before the courts in the judicial district of Japan.

105Signed in Duplicate

In Japan on DD.MM.YYYY

In

106

on DD.MM.YYYY

○ Notification of Certification Bodies conducting PEFC certification

1 Objectives
This guideline describes the rules for the notification of certification bodies which undertake
CoC certification accredited by PEFC.
2 ScopeThis guideline covers the PEFC notification of the certification bodies operating PEFC CoC
certification (PEFC ST 2002: “Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products –Requirements”).
The notification of the certification bodies operating PEFC CoC certification (PEFC ST 2002:“Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products –Requirements”) covered by this guideline will beeffective after the mutual recognition between SGEC certification scheme and PEFC
international certification scheme is endorsed and PEFC Council approves SGEC to carry out
the operation of the notification on behalf of PEFC based on the contract between SGEC andPEFC Council.
3 Conditions for Notification
The certification body applying for PEFC notification shall meet the following conditions:
3.1 Organization
The certification body applying for PEFC notification shall be a legal entity.
3.2 Information disclosure;
The certification body applying for PEFC notification shall agree to be listed on the publicly
available internet database of PEFC Council home page including the identification data of thecertification body and/or other data as specified in the internal regulation for the PEFC
registration system .
3.3 Accreditation of Certification Bodies
The certification bodies applying for CoC certification shall have valid accreditation
issued by the accreditation body by meeting the requirements given in PEFC 2003:2012
and its Annex 1.
3.4

Notification Contract
The certification bodies applying for PEFC CoC certification shall sign a PEFC
notification contract signed by SGEC on behalf of PEFC (attached sheet 2).

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4 Notification issuance procedures

5 Obligations of the certification body with PEFC notification
The certification body with PEFC notification shall;
5.1 carry out the PEFC CoC certification within the valid accreditation in accordance with
PEFC 2003:2012 and its Annex 1.
5.2 inform SGEC of any changes of the content of accreditation or scope of application of the
CoC certification.
5.3 provide SGEC with information, without delay, on every CoC certificate issued to anorganization in Japan and/or any changes to already issued certificates covered by the
PEFC notification.
5.4 pay SGEC the annual PEFC notification fee defined in another document.
Notwithstanding the above, the PEFC notification fee can be changed based on the108decision of the Board of Directors of SGEC.
6 Validity of the PEFC not1ification
6.1 The PEFC notification shall be valid during the valid accreditation period of thecertification body.
Notwithstanding the above, validity of the PEFC notification shall be applied the shorterone of the either of the valid accreditation period of the certification body or the periodof the contract between SGEC and PEFC Council.
6.2 SGEC may terminate or suspend the PEFC notification, if the contract of the notification
is violated.

Supplementary article
This document will be effective from 1st January 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.
Supplementary Article 2This document (amended on 10th February 2016) will be effective from 1st April 2016.
Notwithstanding the above, SGEC may define the period of time until the acquisition of
PEFC Endorsement as transit period.

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Attached Sheet 2
PEFC Notification Contract
PEFC Notification Contract
Between(1) Sustainable Green Eco-system Council, hereafter the “SGEC”,
And(2) Name and registered address of the certification body (hereafter the notified
certification body)

Whereas name of the certification body is a PEFC Notified Certification Body operating forest
chain of custody certification which is recognised by PEFC Council;
Whereas PEFC Council is the governing bodies of the PEFC certification scheme and is theowner of the PEFC logo and PEFC claims.;
Whereas SGEC is authorised by the PEFC Council to issue PEFC Notification to certification
bodies operating PEFC recognised chain of custody certification in Japan.
Whereas the Certification Body is to be allowed to issue the PEFC recognized chain of custodycertificates within the scope of the valid accreditation to organisations which are registered inJapan, as presented at the PEFC web site;
Now, therefore the above said parties agree to the following:

Article 1 Definitions:
1.1 Requirements
CoC Certification
This is PEFC ST 2002:2013 “Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products –Requirements”, which form part of the contractual documentation and are found in theannex of this contract. PEFC ST 2002 is valid as stated now and as may be from time
to time altered by PEFC Council.
1.2

Certification and Accreditation Procedures
These are PEFC ST 2003:2012 and its Annex 1, which forms part of the contractual
documentation and is found in the annex of this contract. PEFC ST 2003:2012 and its

110Annex 1 are valid as stated now and as may be from time to time altered by PEFC Council.
1.3

Tariffs of Notification Fee This is the document “Tariffs of CoC Notification Fee”, which forms part of the contractual
documentation and is found in the annex of this contract.

Article 2: Responsibilities of the Certification Body
2.1

The Certification Body is obliged to have and keep valid accreditation issued incompliance with PEFC ST 2003:2012 ant its Annex 1 and to inform SGEC immediately
about any changes in the accreditation. The Certification Body will provide, at the
beginning of each year as well as each time it is so requested, updated evidence that it stillmeets the requirements of valid accreditation.

2.2 The Certification Body shall carry out the CoC certification against PEFC ST 2002:2013“Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products –Requirements” within the scope of thevalid accreditation.

2.3

The Certification Body shall provide SGEC immediately with information on every
CoC certificates issued to an organization or company in Japan as well as on any changes
to already issued certificates within the range of date as specified by SGEC.

2.4 The Certification Body shall pay SGEC the annual notification fee for every certificate
issued based on an invoice issued by SGEC. The amount of the fees is specified in the
Tariffs of SGEC Notification Fee and can be changed by SGEC during the validity of thecontract. The change concerning the fees takes effect from the date identified in a written
report sent by SGEC to the certification body.

2.5

The Certification Body agrees to be listed on the publicly available PEFC internet
database including the certification body’s identification data and/or other data as
specified in the PEFC registration system.

Article 3 Responsibilities of SGEC
3.1 SGEC recognises the certificates issued by the Certification Body in compliance with this111

contract and accepts PEFC logo use applications from holders of the certificates under
the conditions specified by PEFC Council.

3.2 SGEC is obliged to inform the Certification Body of any changes to the PEFC regulations
and documentation which affect this contract.

Article 4 Contract termination
4.1 SGEC can terminate this contract with three-months prior notice by registered letter.
4.2 SGEC may suspend the contract with the immediate effect if there are reasons to believethat any provision of the PEFC notification contract is not being adhered to.
4.3 Withdrawal, suspension or the end of the validity of the Certification Body’s accreditation
will result in automatic termination of the contract with effect on the same date as thewithdrawal, suspension or the end of the validity of the accreditation.
4.4 The notification fee will not be refunded to the Certification Body in case of temporary
suspension or termination of the contract according to the Article 4.1, 4.2 or 4.3.
4. 5 SGEC is not obliged to pay compensation for any costs or other damages which any
temporary suspension or termination causes to the Certification Body.

Article 5: Governing Law - Jurisdiction
This contract is subject to the law of Japan. Any disputes, or lawsuits concerning this contract
may be brought before the courts in the judicial district of Japan.

Signed in Duplicate

In Japan on DD.MM.YYYY

In

112

on DD.MM.YYYY