The hardwood reference

Certification schemes explained

What each scheme certifies, what its labels mean on an invoice, where to verify a certificate, and where it stops short.

Scheme comparison
Scheme	Certifies	Labels / claims	Verify at
FSC Forest Stewardship Council	Forest management & chain of custody	FSC 100% · FSC Mix · FSC Recycled	FSC certificate search
PEFC Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification	Forest management & chain of custody (endorsement of national systems)	PEFC Certified · PEFC Recycled	PEFC Find Certified
SFI Sustainable Forestry Initiative	Forest management, fiber sourcing & chain of custody (North America)	SFI Chain of Custody · SFI Certified Sourcing	SFI participant search
ATFS American Tree Farm System	Forest management (family woodlands, North America)	Certified through PEFC chain of custody	ATFS programme information
CSA Z809 Canadian Standards Association Sustainable Forest Management	Forest management (Canada)	Claims via PEFC chain of custody	Search via PEFC
MTCS Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme	Forest management & chain of custody (Malaysia)	MTCS/PEFC Certified	MTCC certificate information
Legality verification Third-party legality verification (e.g. NEPCon/Preferred by Nature LegalSource, SGS TLV, Bureau Veritas OLB)	Legality only	LegalSource · OLB · TLV (varies by provider)	Preferred by Nature LegalSource
ClearSource ClearSource Verification Standard	Importer verification with reforestation commitment (this site)	ClearSource Certified mark	ClearSource supplier directory

Forest management & chain of custody

FSC

Forest Stewardship Council

Governance

International non-profit with a three-chamber (environmental, social, economic) membership. Audits performed by accredited certification bodies overseen by Assurance Services International.

Coverage

Global; forest management and chain-of-custody standards, plus Controlled Wood for non-certified inputs.

Labels & invoice claims

FSC 100%, FSC Mix, FSC Recycled. Claims appear on invoices with the certificate code and claim type (e.g. “FSC Mix 70%”, “FSC Mix Credit”). Trademark use on products requires a licence code.

Strengths

Widest recognition among architects and retailers; strong requirements on indigenous rights and high-conservation-value forests; public certificate database with scope.

Limits

FSC Mix may contain Controlled Wood that is not certified; a certified company may sell non-certified stock; not a legal compliance guarantee under EUDR or Lacey Act.

For hardwood buyers

Common on European beech and oak, North American hardwoods from certified forests and some tropical concessions (Congo Basin, Brazil, Bolivia).

FSC certificate search Official site

Forest management & chain of custody (endorsement of national systems)

PEFC

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification

Governance

International umbrella that endorses national forest certification systems against its sustainability benchmarks. Certification bodies are accredited by national accreditation bodies.

Coverage

Global; the largest certified forest area worldwide, concentrated in Europe and North America, with endorsed national systems in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Labels & invoice claims

PEFC Certified, PEFC Recycled. Claims on invoices state the percentage or “100%” with the chain-of-custody certificate number. Material below 70% certified cannot carry the PEFC Certified label.

Strengths

Very large certified area; endorsement model supports smallholders and group certification; national systems such as SFI, ATFS, CSA and MTCS are mutually recognised through PEFC.

Limits

Standards vary between endorsed national systems; controlled sources are not certified; not a legal compliance guarantee.

For hardwood buyers

Widespread on European hardwoods (beech, oak, ash) and Malaysian timber via MTCS; growing in Brazil (Cerflor) and other tropical producers.

PEFC Find Certified Official site

Forest management, fiber sourcing & chain of custody (North America)

SFI

Sustainable Forestry Initiative

Governance

Independent non-profit based in North America with a multi-stakeholder board. Endorsed by PEFC, so SFI-certified material can carry PEFC claims.

Coverage

United States and Canada.

Labels & invoice claims

SFI Chain of Custody, SFI Certified Sourcing. Certified Sourcing is a fiber-sourcing claim, not a forest-management claim—check which label appears.

Strengths

Large North American footprint; PEFC recognition allows export claims; strong on logger training and fiber-sourcing due diligence.

Limits

Most certified area is industrial softwood; hardwood coverage is narrower. Certified Sourcing does not mean the wood came from a certified forest.

For hardwood buyers

Relevant for Appalachian and Great Lakes hardwoods from larger landowners and mills; smaller family woodlots more often use ATFS.

SFI participant search Official site

Forest management (family woodlands, North America)

ATFS

American Tree Farm System

Governance

Programme of the American Forest Foundation; PEFC-endorsed. Group certification for private, non-industrial landowners.

Coverage

United States.

Labels & invoice claims

Certified through PEFC chain of custody. ATFS certifies the forest; downstream claims travel through PEFC chain-of-custody certificates.

Strengths

Reaches the family woodlands that supply much of the US hardwood harvest; low barriers for small owners.

Limits

Volumes are dispersed and claims depend on mills holding PEFC chain of custody; no consumer-facing label of its own.

For hardwood buyers

A meaningful share of certified US hardwood log supply originates in ATFS-certified family forests.

ATFS programme information Official site

Forest management (Canada)

CSA Z809

Canadian Standards Association Sustainable Forest Management

Governance

National standard developed through CSA Group; PEFC-endorsed.

Coverage

Canada.

Labels & invoice claims

Claims via PEFC chain of custody. Downstream claims are made under PEFC chain-of-custody rules.

Strengths

Public participation requirements; recognised internationally through PEFC.

Limits

Predominantly softwood; limited direct relevance for most hardwood buyers.

For hardwood buyers

Applies to some eastern Canadian hardwood-producing regions (maple, birch, yellow birch).

Search via PEFC Official site

Forest management & chain of custody (Malaysia)

MTCS

Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme

Governance

Operated by the Malaysian Timber Certification Council; PEFC-endorsed.

Coverage

Malaysia (Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak).

Labels & invoice claims

MTCS/PEFC Certified. Products carry PEFC claims and labels through mutual recognition.

Strengths

The main route to certified Malaysian tropical hardwoods (meranti, keruing, merbau, kapur).

Limits

Has faced criticism from NGOs over indigenous land rights in Sarawak; certified area has fluctuated. Check the specific forest management unit.

For hardwood buyers

Highly relevant to buyers of Southeast Asian decking and joinery timbers.

MTCC certificate information Official site

Legality only

Legality verification

Third-party legality verification (e.g. NEPCon/Preferred by Nature LegalSource, SGS TLV, Bureau Veritas OLB)

Governance

Proprietary standards run by individual certification and inspection companies.

Coverage

Mainly tropical producer countries where full sustainability certification is scarce.

Labels & invoice claims

LegalSource, OLB, TLV (varies by provider). Confirms legal harvest, transport and export compliance; does not certify sustainable forest management.

Strengths

Practical evidence for due diligence under EUDR, UKTR and Lacey Act where certified supply is unavailable.

Limits

Not a sustainability claim; standards differ between providers; still requires the buyer’s own risk assessment.

For hardwood buyers

Common on African and Latin American hardwoods (sapele, iroko, ipe, cumaru) from concessions without FSC certification.

Preferred by Nature LegalSource Official site

Importer verification with reforestation commitment (this site)

ClearSource

ClearSource Verification Standard

Governance

The programme described on this site. It is separate from FSC, PEFC and the schemes above and implies no endorsement by or equivalence with them.

Coverage

Importer-level verification of sourcing documentation and replanting commitments at origin, as described in the Standard.

Labels & invoice claims

ClearSource Certified mark. A ClearSource record does not verify an FSC or PEFC certificate, and demonstration records in the directory are explicitly not evidence of certification.

Strengths

Focuses on importer accountability and replanting commitments, which forest-level schemes do not address.

Limits

Not a forest-management or chain-of-custody scheme; does not replace legal due diligence; scope and audit evidence must be requested from the participant.

For hardwood buyers

Read the Standard page for exactly what is and is not verified before relying on the mark.

ClearSource supplier directory Read the Standard

Editorial summaries checked 18 September 2026. Scheme names and logos belong to their owners; listing here is descriptive and implies no affiliation. ClearSource is described in its own entry and is not equivalent to any other scheme on this page.