“FSC®”  “Forest Stewardship Council®”

FSC® is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.
Established in 1993 as a response to concerns over global deforestation, FSC® is a pioneer forum where the global consensus on responsible forest management convenes and through democratic process effects solutions to the pressures facing the world’s forests and forest-dependent communities.
Within this forum, voices from the Global North and South, from organizations big and small, assemble to define environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management and identify the tools and resources that will effect positive, lasting change.

As a multi-stakeholder organization, FSC® applies the directive of its membership to develop forest management and chain of custody standards, deliver trademark assurance and provide accreditation services to a global network of committed businesses, organizations and communities.
FSC® certification provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value.

We received our FSC® certificate in 1999 and our FSC® License number is : FSC®-C018601

FSC® timber comes from well managed forests, independently certified in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council A.C.

Please always check our scope on FSC.org

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) through independent third-party certification.
PEFC works throughout the entire forest supply chain to promote good practice in the forest and to ensure that timber and non-timber forest products are produced with respect for the highest ecological, social and ethical standards. Thanks to its eco-label, customers and consumers are able to identify products from sustainably managed forests.
PEFC is an umbrella organization. It works by endorsing national forest certification systems developed through multi-stakeholder processes and tailored to local priorities and conditions.

We received our PEFC certificate in 2005 and our PEFC License number is PEFC/07-32-04

The standard is PEFC ST 2002:2020

International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) is an International Phytosanitary Measure developed by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) that directly addresses the need to treat wood materials of a thickness greater than 6mm, used to ship products between countries. Its main purpose is to prevent the international transport and spread of disease and insects that could negatively affect plants or ecosystems. ISPM 15 affects all wood packaging material (pallets, crates, dunnages, etc.) requiring that they be debarked and then heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide and stamped or branded,[1] with a mark of compliance. This mark of compliance is colloquially known as the "wheat stamp". Products exempt from the ISPM 15 are made from alternative material, like paper, plastic or wood panel products (i.e. OSB, hardboard, and plywood).

Download here our ISPM 15 certificate in PDF format (1MB)

OLB (Origin ad Legality of Timber) Certification

Sustainable management is the only way to preserve tropical forests and increase their economic value for the local population by providing development opportunities for many villages.

The O.L.B. System (Origin and Legality of Wood) was developed by Bureau Veritas Certification in 2004, following requests from customers wishing to obtain an official certificate and third party regarding the legality of their timber.
 This system is based on:

• a certificate for operators/managers forest.

• a chain of custody for the industrialists and traders.

The certificate of wood legality is based on the respect of the referential for the certification of forest companies. This document outlines the steps to meet on compliance with laws relating to the management and the exploitation of wood, employment and personal security, respect for the environment. It also deals broadly with the issues of traceability of timber within the company till the saling or the initial processing.

Certification of processing and trading wood companies is based on the respect for the chain of control repository. This document outlines the steps to meet for the right to use the OLB brand product business.

CE-marking is the manufacturer's declaration that a product complies with the essential requirements of the relevant European health, safety and environmental

protection legislation, in practice by many of the so-called Product Directives. For wood products it is the Construction Products Directive (CPD) that sets the

requirements. In general CE-marking is a mean for free access for the product in the European Economic Area. It is not a quality mark, but depending on the use

of the product, some quality aspects may be included in the CE-marking. As of the 1st of July 2013, all construction products that are produced and labelled with 

the CE marking must comply with European legislation called CPR. This CPR involves a ‘Declaration of Performance’, which is also called a performance certificate.

Download here our CE certificat

Download here our CE-14915 certificat

Preferred by Nature is an international non-profit organization that has been promoting sustainable land us and responsible trade in forest resources for over 20 years.

This through innovation projects and sustainability services.
They are accredited certifiers for sustainability programs such as FSC, PEFC.

Preferred by Nature was also recognized by the EU as a monitoring organization under the EU Timber Regulation.

LegalSource Standard

The legalSource Standard contains requirements for the production and purchase of legally harvested timber.

The standard is in line with the EU Timber Regulation.
The LegalSourceTM Standard forms the backbone of the LegalSource Program and Due Diligence System. It is used to evaluate and certify due diligence in the procurement of legal timber;
The standard sets out the requirements for supply chain management, risk analysis and quality management systems.
Certification to the standard helps companies demonstrate that they minimize the risk of producing or purchasing illegal timber products.

Vandecasteele Houtimport has successfully performed the Preferred by Nature generic Chain of Custody audit.

From now on we can sell LegalSourceTM Timber with a chain of custody certificate from Vandecasteele Houtimport and Vandecasteele Timber.

Check here the validity of our certificate

The management hereby declares that it will follow the requirements of the CoC-PEFC standard and that it will make the necessary resources available for this.

Download our RPP