One of the world’s largest certification bodies, responsible for issuing thousands of forest certification certificates to companies in China and worldwide—which are then used to sell timber products into the global supply chain—has been suspended by Assurance Services International (ASI), FSC’s assurance partner.
Announced last month, SAI-QMI has been suspended for six months—effective July 17, 2024 – “across its full geographical scope,” with the watchdog citing a breach of “Section 19, Table 2, Items 7 and 8, and Section 20 of the ASI Approval Procedure (ASI-PRO-20-258).”
Wood Central understands that these breaches relate to the conformity assessment body’s (in this case, SAI-QMI) failure to submit and close out Corrective Actions. As a result, the certification body can no longer “enter into new agreements for certification or perform initial certification services.” Nonetheless, it can “continue to conduct surveillance audits for existing clients during the suspension period,” ASI said.
As one of the world’s most traded commodities, forest certification (FSC, PEFC and regional schemes like SFI – in North America and Responsible Wood – in Australia) plays an all-important role in demonstrating the sustainable credentials of forest products and is often used by importers and exporters to demonstrate the sustainability (and in certain instances the legality) of forest products.
What do SAI-QMI certificate holders need to know about Suspension?
According to ASI, Suspension occurs if a certification body fails to meet the Accreditation/Approval Requirements (known as the Scheme Owner Requirements or ASI Requirements) or has voluntarily requested the Suspension of its Accreditation /Approval.
“Suspension places temporary restrictions on the services a CAB may provide within the Scope of Approval/Accreditation,” ASI said. “When a CAB is suspended, it shall continue to conduct surveillance audits necessary to maintain existing Certifications and address open ASI Nonconformities (NCs).”
However, within the Scope of Suspension, the CAB shall not:
- Issue any new ASI Certificate
- Issue any new scope extensions (including no addition of sites to existing Certificates)
- Enter into new agreements for Certification.
“The CAB may conclude initial certification and recertification activities and issue certificates for audits, which started before the Suspension effective date.
However, the CAB shall obtain written approval from ASI before conducting such activities. ASI reserves the right to decide on such requests on a case-by-case basis.”
“Failure to satisfactorily address the causes that led to Suspension within the specified deadline is grounds for escalating to another Sanction, in this case, Withdrawal of Accreditation/Approval.”
- For more information about ASI and the process around Suspension, visit Assurance Services International’s website.
