These assessments last approximately one to two weeks, followed by time for report writing and processing. During the evaluation, the team visits field sites, meets with operation managers, and interviews other interested parties such as employees, community members, environmental groups and government forestry officials. Field reports are reviewed by members of an independent panel. After input from review panel members, the SmartWood Program makes a final decision as to certification. All certified SmartWood sources and companies are subject to periodic field audits in order to maintain certification.
All information is held in strict confidentiality.
Public Information SmartWood serves as an internationally recognized clearinghouse for information on sustainable forest management and certified wood products. Pre-certified members do not appear on the SmartWood List, but some information on them can be obtained by contacting the program. The SmartWood Program has been participating in numerous forest policy forums and organizations. Forest Monitoring for Carbon Offset, Environmental Protection, Financial Investments, and Other Purposes SmartWood also evaluates forestry operations for other purposes, such as determining a project's compliance with government or donor environmental standards or assessing the suitability of a project for investments that are conditioned upon the use of sustainable forest management practices. In forestry carbon offsets, investments in the conservation and management of forests are made by companies such as electric utilities in recognition of the forest's value as a carbon sink for offsetting carbon dioxide emissions.