Forest certification

Certification of forest management and forest use systems, forest products, and products derived from them based on their origin is carried out within the framework of the National System for Conformity Assessment of the Republic of Belarus.

In Belarus, within the framework of the National System for Conformity Assessment of the Republic of Belarus, certification of forest management and forest use systems, as well as certification of forest products and products derived from them based on their origin, is carried out.
Based on the results of the certification of forest management and forest use systems, as well as the certification of forest products and products derived from them based on their origin, certificates of conformity are issued for the forest management and forest use system, as well as certificates for forest products based on their origin.
During the certification of the forest management and forest use system, the compliance of the forest management and forest use system with regulatory legal acts and technical regulatory legal acts is documented. These acts establish the requirements for managing forests and forest resources and for extracting the beneficial properties of forests for specific purposes.
When certifying forest products and their processed counterparts based on their origin, the documentation confirms that they originate from forests certified in accordance with the requirements of the National Conformity Assessment System of the Republic of Belarus, and that during the manufacturing process, accounting and registration of all changes in the state of forest products are established as they move from the forest to the consumer. This ensures the transformation of information about the origin of the raw materials purchased by the organization into information about the origin of the forest products produced using those raw materials.
Certification of forest management and forest use systems, certification of forest products and products derived from them based on their origin, is carried out on a voluntary basis at the initiative of legal entities – applicants (groups of legal entities) by concluding an agreement between them and the certification body.
All work related to the certification of forest management and forest use systems, forest products and products derived from them based on their origin is paid for by the applicant.

Certificates of accreditation of the forest certification body UE «BELGIPROLES»

1.Regulatory legal acts governing the procedure for certifying forest management and forest use systems, as well as the certification of forest products and their processed counterparts based on their origin.

1.1 The procedure for certifying forest management and forest use systems, as well as the certification of forest products and their processed products based on the origin of the certification, is regulated by the following regulatory legal acts:

The Law of the Republic of Belarus dated October 24, 2016, №. 436‑3 “On Technical Regulation and Standardization”

The Law of the Republic of Belarus dated October 24, 2016, №. 437‑3 “On the Assessment of Compliance with Technical Requirements”

Rules for confirming compliance with the National Conformity Assessment System of the Republic of Belarus.
Approved by Resolution №. 61 of the State Committee for Standardization of the Republic of Belarus dated July 25, 2017.

Regulation on the Requirements for the Professional Competence of Expert Auditors and Certification of Compliance with These Requirements. Approved by Resolution №. 91 of the State Committee for Standardization of the Republic of Belarus dated December 21, 2017.

1.2 Technical regulatory legal acts (TRLA) regulating the certification procedure for forest management and forest use systems, as well as the certification of forest products and their processed products based on their origin:

STB 2370-2014	The Sustainable Forestry and Logging Mark. Labeling Requirements
STB 2371-2014	Forest certification auditing experts
STB 2606-2022	Sustainable forest management and use. Requirement for a group of legal entities engaged in forestry.

1.3 Documented procedures of the forest certification body:

1.3.1 Documented procedures of the forest certification body for forest management and forest use systems:

RK SM OLS SULP 2026	Management System Manual of the Forest Management and Use Certification Body
DP SM OLS SULULP 8.1-01-2025	Requirements for the competence of personnel of the certification body for forest management and forest use systems.
DP SM OLS SULLP 10.1-01-2026	Requirements for the certification process of forest management and forest use systems. Procedure for certifying forest management and forest use systems.

1.3.2 Documented procedures of the body responsible for forest certification of forest products and their processed products by origin:

RK SM OLS SLP 2026	Management System Manual for the Forest Certification Body. Certification of Forest Products Based on Origin
DP SM OLS SLP 7.2-01-2025	Requirements for the competence of personnel of the forest product certification body based on the origin of the product.
DP SM OLS SLP 8.1-01-2026	Requirements for the certification process of forest products based on their origin. Procedure for conducting certification of forest products based on their origin.
DP SM OLS SLP 8.1-02-2026	Requirements for the certification process of forest products based on their origin. Procedure for conducting certification of forest products based on their origin to ensure compliance with the requirements of STB ISO 38200-2023 “Supply chain of wood and wood products”.
DP SM OLS SLP 8.2-01-2024	Requirements for the certification process of forest products based on their origin. Group certification of forest products based on their origin.
ДП СМ ОЛС СЛП 8.2-02-2024	Requirements for the certification process of forest products based on their origin. Procedure for selecting sites for on‑site audits in the group certification of forest products based on their origin.

2. Technical regulatory legal acts (TRLA) that the forest certification is carried out in accordance with.

2.1 Technical regulatory legal acts (TRLA) that the forest management and forest use systems must comply with in order to be certified.

Certification of forest management and forest use systems is carried out to ensure compliance with:

2.1.1 Certification of forest management and forest use systems is carried out to ensure compliance with the fundamental standard:

STB 1708-2022

Sustainable forest management and use. Main requirements

2.1.2 TNPA related to STB 1708:

STB 1342-2002	Sustainable forest management and use. Logging machines. General technical requirements.
STB 1360-2002	Sustainable forest management and use. Main-use logging. Technology requirements.
STB 1408-2003	Emergency safety. Forest fire monitoring and forecasting. General requirements
STB 1582-2005	Sustainable forest management and use. Requirements for forest protection measures.
STB 1592-2005	Sustainable forest management and use. Forestry machinery. General technical requirements.
TKP 240-2010(02080)	Radiation control. Forest land survey. Procedure for conducting.
TKP 500-2016(33090)	Forestry roads. Design standards and installation rules.
TKP 625-2018(33090)	Technical requirements for the process of developing hunting documentation
TKP 634-2019(33090)	The procedure for carrying out forest protection measures in forests.
STB ISO 9000-2015 (ISO 9000:2015, IDT)	Quality Management Systems. Basic Principles and Vocabulary
STB ISO 45001-2020 (ISO 45001:2018, IDT)	Occupational health and safety management systems. Requirements and guidelines for implementation.

2.2 Technical regulatory legal acts (TRLAs) that the certification of forest products and their processed products is carried out in accordance with, based on the origin.

Certification of forest products and their processed products based on their origin is carried out to ensure compliance with:

STB 2157-2021 (PEFC ST 2002:2020)	Identification of forest wood and non‑wood products based on their origin. Main requirements
STB ISO 38200-2023	The supply chain for timber and wood‑based products
STB 2370-2014	The Sustainable Forest Management Symbol. Labeling Requirements

2.1.2 TNPA related to STB 2157-2021, STB ISO 18200-2023:

STB 1500-2004	Technical regulation and standardization. Terms and definitions
STB 2370-2014	Sustainable forest management and forest use sign. Labeling requirements.
STB ISO 9000-2015 (ISO 9000:2015, IDT)	Quality Management Systems. Basic Principles and Vocabulary
STB ISO 14020-2003 (ISO14020:2000, IDT)	Environmental management. Environmental labels and declarations. Basic principles.
STB ISO 14021-2021 (ISO14021:2016, IDT)	Labels and declarations, environmental. Self‑declared environmental claims (Type II environmental labeling)
GOST ISO/IEC 17065-2013 (ISO/IEC 17065:2012, IDT)	Assessment of conformity. Requirements for certification bodies for products, processes, and services.
STB ISO 190011-2021 (ISO 19011:2018, IDT)	Guidelines for management system audits

3. Application for certification
An organization (legal entity) engaged in forestry and (or) forest management, producing and (or) processing forest products, wishing to certify its system of forest management and forest management, forest products and products of their processing on the basis of origin must send to the certification body for forest management and forest management systems, forest products and products of their processing based on origin:

– an application;

– initial information;

– answers to the questionnaire.

4. Rights and obligations of certification applicants

4.1 Certification applicants have the right to:

– choose any certification body with the appropriate scope of accreditation to carry out certification work;

– choose a certification scheme (individual or group);

– use the Sustainable Forestry Management Mark to label certified forest management and forest use systems certified based on the origin of forest products.

– appeal to the State Committee for Standardization of the Republic of Belarus and (or) the Belarusian State Accreditation Center (BGCA) against decisions and (or) actions (inaction) accredited certification body for forest management and management systems, forest products and products of their processing based on origin, and in case of disagreement with their decision – to the court;

– exercise other rights in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

4.2 Applicants for certification are required to:

– create the necessary conditions for the work of expert auditors and technical experts of the certification body when they carry out work on the certification of forest management and forest use systems, as well as on the certification of forest products and their processed products by origin;

– comply with the requirements of the National Conformity Assessment System of the Republic of Belarus related to the certification procedures for forest management and forest use systems, as well as for the certification of forest products and their processed products by origin.

– ensure that forest management and forest use systems comply with the requirements of STB 1708-2022 “Sustainable Forest Management and Use. Basic Requirements”, legislation in the field of use, protection, conservation and reproduction of forests, legislation on environmental protection, and regulatory and technical legal acts in the field of sustainable forest management and use.

– to ensure confirmation of the origin of forest products from certified forests in accordance with the requirements of STB 2157‑2021 “Identification of forest wood and non‑wood products by origin. Basic requirements”;
;
– to ensure confirmation of the origin of forest products in accordance with the requirements of STB ISO 38200‑2023 “Supply chain of wood and wood‑based products”.

– suspend or terminate, in accordance with the established procedure, the sale of forest products if their origin does not comply with the requirements of STB 2157–2021, or, in the case of voluntary certification, apply, in accordance with the established procedure, to the certification body that issued the certificate of conformity to request the termination or suspension of the certificate of conformity on its own initiative;

– upon suspension or revocation of the certificate of conformity, the forest management and forest use system shall cease the use of all advertising materials containing a reference to the certificate of conformity.

– not to use the Sustainable Forest Management and Use Mark for labeling certified forest management and use systems certified based on the origin of forest products if they do not comply with the requirements of STB 1708-2022, STB 2157-2021;
;
– to fulfill other obligations in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

5. Handling requests for information

5.1 At the request of any party, the certification body shall provide information:

– about the geographical regions in which it operates;

– about the status of the certification carried out;

– about the name, the relevant regulatory document, the field, and the geographical location (city, country) of the specific certified customer.

5.2 The request must be in the form of an official letter and must be sent to the certification body via traditional or electronic mail or by fax..

5.3 The response to the request must be in the form of an official letter and must be sent to the party that requested the information via traditional or electronic mail or by fax..

5.4. The certification body is responsible for the accuracy and reliability of the information provided to clients (including advertising information).

5.5 Information about issued, suspended, or revoked conformity certificates is available on the website www.tsouz.belgiss.by.

6. Use of the sustainable forest management and forest use label

6.1 The Sustainable Forest Management and Use Mark is intended to provide additional information to consumers and other parties interested in sustainable forest management and use about the compliance of the forest management and use systems marked with it with the requirements of STB 1708, which is confirmed by a certificate of conformity for the forest management and use system, and about the compliance of the forest products marked with it with the requirements of STB 2157, which is confirmed by a certificate of conformity for forest products.

6.2 The user of the sustainable forest management and use symbol has the right to use the sustainable forest management and use symbol on the Internet for advertising, informational, and educational purposes.

6.3 The labeling with the sustainable forest management and forest use mark is carried out on a voluntary basis and is applied in accordance with the requirements of STB 2370-2014.

The certificate holder’s obligations to ensure that forest products marked with the sustainable forest management and use label comply with the requirements of STB 2157, as well as the legitimacy of using the sustainable forest management and use label, are established in the certification agreement between the certification body and the certificate holder.

6.4 The labeling must be unambiguous, complete, and reliable.

6.5 The location where the sustainable forest management and use sign is applied must ensure its accessibility to consumers and other interested parties.

The location for applying the sustainable forest management and forest use label is determined by the holder of the conformity certificate.

6.6 The labeling must be visible during storage and use of forest products.

6.7 The marking with the sustainable forest management and use label is used in addition to the marking provided for by the technical regulatory legal acts in the field of technical regulation and standardization for the given product, as well as the transport marking in accordance with GOST 14192.

7. Payment for forest certification work

7.1 Payment for forest certification work is carried out on a contractual basis at the expense of the applicant organization.

Payment for the certification of forest management and forest use systems consists of payment for the following work:

– certification audit at the first stage;

– certification audit at the second stage;

– scheduled and unscheduled periodic assessment;

– additional audit.

– to a repeat certification audit.

Payment for the certification of forest products and their processed products based on their origin consists of payment for the following services:

– an audit to identify forest products and their processed products based on their origin at each stage of the applicant’s production chain;

– an additional audit;

– scheduled and unscheduled periodic assessment.

7.2 The applicant organization pays all costs associated with the certification work, regardless of the certification results.

In the case of group certification, all costs associated with the certification work, regardless of the certification results, are paid by the group members.

7.3 The cost of the certification work is determined based on the labor intensity of the work, which is established in accordance with the labor intensity standards approved by the head of the certification body.

7.4 The labor intensity of the certification work for forest management and forest use systems depends on:

– the effective number of employees of the applicant organization;

– the area of the forest fund;

– the nature, quantity, and complexity of aspects of the forest management and forest use system.

7.5 The labor intensity of work on certifying forest products and their processed products by origin depends on:

– the effective number of employees of the applicant organization;

– the number of structural units;

– the number of types of forest products.

7.6 The labor intensity of forest certification work may be adjusted taking into account factors that are specific only to the organization being audited.

Forms for submitting applications for forest certification:

Application for certification of the forest management and forest use system;

Application for certification of forest products and their processed products based on their origin to meet the requirements of STB 2157-2021.

Application for certification of forest products and their processed products based on their origin to meet the requirements of STB ISO 18200-2023.

Initial data:

Mandatory initial information for certification of the forest management and forest use system.

Mandatory initial information required for the certification of forest products and their processed products based on their origin.

Certification procedures:

DP SM OLS SULULP 8.1-01-2025, as amended 1

DP SM OLS SLULP 10.1-01-2026 UTV

DP SM OLS SLP 7.2-01-2025, as amended 1

DP SM OLS SLP 8.1-01-2026