Continuous Improvement Procedure - V1-2 - Minor revision removing certification body requirements and aligning with ISO/IEC 17065:2012

Sep 11, 2026

Continuous Improvement Procedure (CIP) explains how organizations managing small or low intensity managed forests (SLIMF) or community forests (CF) can access and maintain FSC forest management certification. It sets a risk-based approach covering action plan development and implementation, initial conformity self-checks, self-monitoring, and continuous improvement in forest management groups. The procedure defines objectives, scope, references, key terms, effective and validity dates, and version control, including transition end and publication timelines.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time6 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

A Objective

B Scope

C References

D Terms and Definitions

1. Application to use the CIP

2. Initial Conformity Self Check

3. Action Plan development

4. Action Plan implementation

5. Self-Monitoring

6. Applying the continuous improvement concept in forest management groups

ANNEXES

Procedure FSC PRO 30-011 V1-2 EN | Title: | Continuous Improvement Procedure | | --- | --- | | Dates: | Approval date: 27 February 2025
Effective date: 1 October 2025 | | Timeframes: | Transition end date: 31 March 2027
Period of validity: until replaced or withdrawn | | Contact for
comments: | FSC International – Policy and Performance Unit Adenauerallee 134
53113 Bonn Germany
Phone: +49-(0)228-36766-0
Fax: +49-(0)228-36766-65
Email: [policy_performance@fsc.org](policy_performance@fsc.org) | Version control | Publication | 1 April 2025 | | | --- | --- | --- | | date: | | | | Version | Description Date | | | V1-0 | The initial version was approved by the FSC Board of Directors
at its 91st meeting on 15 March 2022.
This procedure was developed to provide a flexible approach for
The Organization managing SLIMF or Community Forests, to
access FSC certification, by progressively conforming to the
applicable FSC standard throughout the first certification cycle. | 15.03.2022 | | V1-1 This version includes minor revisions to align with updates made 23.08.2024
to the FSC normative framework, including V2-0> , , and .
In addition, uestions and proposed actions in Annex 1 have been improved, and the functionality of all Annexes has been
optimized for better usability.
| | | | V1-2 Minor revision, removing the certification body requirements from 27.02.2025
the procedure and small amendments to align with ISO/IEC
17065:2012 . | | | ® 2025 Forest Stewardship Council, A.C. All Rights Reserved FSC® F000100 You may not distribute, modify, transmit, reuse, reproduce, re-post or use the copyrighted materials from this document for public or commercial purposes, without the express written consent of the publisher. You are hereby authorized to view, download, print and distribute individual pages from this document subject for informational purposes only. INTRODUCTION FSC seeks to improve access to, and uptake of, the FSC system by communities and owners of small forests. The FSC system consists of common Principles and Criteria (P&C) for the certification of all management units globally, regardless of their size, ownership, socioeconomic conditions, or types of forest systems. Despite the application of the concepts of scale, intensity, and risk (SIR) and small or low intensity managed forest (SLIMF) in the FSC normative framework, for small-scale and community forests (CF) , particularly in tropical countries, conformity with FSC requirements is still a big challenge and involves a large investment compared to the economic benefit that FSC certification may offer to them. To overcome some of these challenges, FSC has developed this Continuous Improvement Procedure (CIP) . The development of the CIP responds to an FSC members mandate from motion 46 passed on the General Assembly held in 2017 in Vancouver, Canada, and it aims to contribute to the FSC goals described in the FSC Global Strategy (2021-2026) . The CIP follows a risk-based approach, including an international assessment of risk (the categorization of Core Criteria (CC) and Continuous Improvement Criteria (CIC) and low-risk designation to certain criteria along with local considerations (active and inactive forest management units) . In order to obtain FSC certification at the initial stage of the process The Organization shall conform with the Core Criteria and have an Action Plan according to the requirements of this procedure. To maintain certification, The Organization shall conform with the Core Criteria and the Continuous Improvement Criteria in accordance with the path established in the Action Plan during the first certification cycle comprised of 5 years or, in case of group members, during the first 5 years of the group membership. CONTENT Introduction 3 A Objective 5 B Scope 5 C References 5 E Terms and Defi

FAQs

What is the purpose of the FSC Continuous Improvement Procedure (CIP)?

The CIP provides a tailored way for organizations managing SLIMF or community forests to access FSC forest management certification and progress toward ongoing conformity in the first certification cycle.

What is the risk-based approach used in the CIP?

The CIP uses a risk-based approach, including international risk assessment and local considerations, covering core and continuous improvement criteria and low-risk designations for certain criteria.

What requirements must an organization meet to obtain FSC certification and to maintain it?

To obtain certification at the initial stage, the organization must conform with the Core Criteria and have an action plan. To maintain certification, it must conform with the Core Criteria and Continuous Improvement Criteria following the path defined in the action plan during the first certification cycle.

Sep 11, 2026

Uploaded by Jordan Avery