Sustainability criterion for Purchase of legal timber for furniture production | The National Agency for Public Procurement

Criterion text

All timber used in the furniture delivered in accordance with the contract must have been legally harvested in accordance with Regulation (EU) 995/2010 laying down the obligations for operators releasing timber and timber products on the market (the Timber Regulation).

Timber or timber products not covered by the Timber Regulation shall be subject to one of the following options:

FLEGT licenses,
relevant CITES permits and certificates,
or a due diligence system introduced by the supplier which provides information on the country of felling, tree species, quantity, supplier and compliance with relevant national legislation. If a risk of illegally harvested timber is identified in the supply chain, the system of due diligence shall specify procedures on how to reduce this risk.

The supplier shall be able to provide information proving, on request, that the requirement is being met, in accordance with the Timber Regulation. [The contracting organisation] may request that the data be verified by an independent third party.

Verification

When requested, the supplier must be able to present for example one of the following:
information proving compliance with the requirement, in accordance with the Timber Regulation,

FLEGT licences, CITES permits or certificates for timber or timber products not covered by the Timber Regulation,
Labelling showing that the furniture meets the requirement, such as valid licences for
- Möbelfakta
- Nordic Swan Ecolabel, Furniture and furnishings
- FSC
- PEFC
The company's self-declaration/supplier's declaration including technical documentation of compliance verified by an accredited verification body, accredited for the task according to ISO/IEC 17029 or equivalent standard.

Proposed follow-up

Documentation and licenses
Review submitted documentation and ensure that it is valid.

Labelling
If the requirement has been verified with labelling, check that there is a valid license for the product in question. This is checked on the respective website: Möbelfakta, Nordic Swan Ecolabel, EU Ecolabel, FSC, PEFC.

Self-declaration verified by an accredited verification body

Request the company's self-declaration including technical documentation of compliance verified by an accredited verification body, accredited for the task according to ISO/IEC 17029.

Information about the criterion

A due diligence system means that the operator systematically collects information about its products and assesses the risk that the timber (raw material) has been harvested illegally. Due diligence involves identifying, assessing, preventing, ending, mitigating, monitoring, communicating, reporting and remedying the potential and/or actual adverse impact on the environment and human rights that the operator's activities and activities in their value chains and business relationships may cause.

The information, together with the risk assessment, must be stored for five years. Read more about due diligence on the Swedish Forest Agency's website (external link).

There are currently no accredited verification bodies according to ISO/IEC 17029 (Conformity Assessment – General Principles and Requirements for Validation and Verification Bodies), as it is a relatively new standard. However, this may change, especially if the demand to verify compliance in this way increases. This possibility is therefore included in the list of possible evidence. More information about the standard can be found on Swedac's website.

Environmental goals

Sustainable Forests

Agenda 2030

Versions history

The version date indicates when the sustainability criterion was created or last updated. Last reviewed dated tells when we last checked that the sustainability criterion still is relevant.

Current ID: 11472
Version date: 2021-12-13
Review date: 2024-05-27

Purchase of legal timber for furniture production

Details