{"id":29711,"date":"2025-10-30T18:39:45","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T08:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=29711"},"modified":"2025-10-30T18:39:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T08:39:49","slug":"can-blockchain-stamp-out-fraud-in-timber-supply-chains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/can-blockchain-stamp-out-fraud-in-timber-supply-chains\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Blockchain Stamp Out Fraud in Timber Supply Chains?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>FSC\u2019s new blockchain-powered \u2018FSC Trace\u2019 platform &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/fsc.org\/en\/media\/fsc-trace-two-pager\">launched in May 2025<\/a> &#8211; could hold the key to help stamp out widespread fraud in the global supply chain for certified forest products. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earthsight.org.uk\/media\/download\/2379\">That is according to FSC International<\/a>, which revealed that the new and improved technology (formerly FSC Blockchain) will, along with World Forest ID&#8217;s isotape and genetic testing, help verify the origin of at-risk timber products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earthsight.org.uk\/news\/FSC-billion-dollar-fraud\">It comes as the world&#8217;s most recognised ecolabel responded to a new report prepared by Earthsight<\/a>, which claims that $10 billion and $30 billion worth of certified products were tied up in fraudulent claims. &#8220;It\u2019s a trust-based system,\u201d said Sam Lawson, head of Earthsight. \u201cWhat companies are doing rampantly is selling far more FSC products than they buy FSC timber. So they\u2019re basically slapping an FSC label on wood that\u2019s coming from somewhere else entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8FSC is facing its \u201clast call\u201d to tackle a billion-dollar fraud crisis<br><br>Our new analysis suggests that $10-$30bn of fraudulently certified goods are being sold each year<br><br>\ud83d\udd17<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZdDClhPwTv\">https:\/\/t.co\/ZdDClhPwTv<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Earthsight (@earthsight) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/earthsight\/status\/1981687144310886777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 24, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Phil Guillery, FSC\u2019s former integrity director, \u201c20-30% of claims in the system were false\u201d during his tenure, \u201cand I haven\u2019t seen anything to suggest the figure has dropped since.\u201d However, &nbsp;FSC issued a swift rebuttal to Guillery\u2019s claims, calling them unsubstantiated and \u201cbased on outdated information that does not reflect the system today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"pqNopYKLVaM\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How does FSC Trace work?\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pqNopYKLVaM?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Over that time, supply chain traceability has become increasingly difficult as goods travel the world in more complex ways, making it ineffective and insufficient for today&#8217;s sustainability goals, legislation, and companies aiming for ambitious targets. To fix this, FSC is shaking up supply chain traceability, introducing FSC Trace, a secure digital record for verified transactions and sourcing data, ensuring streamlined compliance and verification at every supply chain stage. Footage courtesy of FSC International.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Addressing concerns that illegal and sanctioned wood from Russia and Belarus are now infiltrating global supply chains: \u201cSince 2022, when the war in Ukraine started, FSC terminated all forest management certificates in Russia,\u201d FSC International said, referring to the drop of certified forest area and increase of chain of custody certificates referenced in the report. \u201cThis resulted in 36 million hectares of forest losing certification.\u201d However, \u201cthere has been an increase of nearly 6% in certified forests in various parts of the world and currently more than 167 million hectares of forest are certified,\u201d FSC International said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1905\" height=\"1905\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2RK2BDD-fotor-20251010155721.jpg\" alt=\"Piles of logs from Russia await loading onto trains in Manzhouli, China\u2019s largest inland port, illustrating how at\u2011risk timber can transit via China into global supply chains. Earlier this month, Wood Central reported on a new Source Certain report warns this route can be used to circumvent FSC and PEFC controls, increasing the risk that Russian\u2011origin timber reaches Australian supply chains through incorrect or misleading claims. (Photo Credit: imago\/Xinhua via Alamy Stock Images)\" class=\"wp-image-29221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2RK2BDD-fotor-20251010155721.jpg 1905w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2RK2BDD-fotor-20251010155721-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2RK2BDD-fotor-20251010155721-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2RK2BDD-fotor-20251010155721-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2RK2BDD-fotor-20251010155721-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2RK2BDD-fotor-20251010155721-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2RK2BDD-fotor-20251010155721-420x420.jpg 420w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2RK2BDD-fotor-20251010155721-696x696.jpg 696w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2RK2BDD-fotor-20251010155721-1068x1068.jpg 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1905px) 100vw, 1905px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Piles of logs from Russia await loading onto trains in Manzhouli, China\u2019s largest inland port, illustrating how at\u2011risk timber can transit via China into global supply chains. Earlier this month, Wood Central reported on a new Source Certain report that warns this route can be used to circumvent FSC and PEFC controls, increasing the risk that Russian\u2011origin timber reaches Australian supply chains through incorrect or misleading claims. (Photo Credit: imago\/Xinhua via Alamy Stock Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/50-of-australias-imported-timber-fails-traceability-testing-report\/\">It comes after Wood Central exclusively revealed that huge volumes of timber<\/a> &#8211; carrying FSC claims &#8211; could be (unknowingly) illegal or \u2018conflict timber,\u2019<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.agriculture.gov.au\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/34282.pdf\">\u00a0with a new report published by Australia\u2019s Department of Agriculture under the Freedom of Information Act<\/a><\/em> revealing that 50% of all sampled products could not accurately verify the provenance of the wood. The report, produced by Source Certain\u2014 <em><a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/smuggled-russian-timber-found-in-uk-homes-despite-sanctions\/\">the same body which last month revealed that up to 7.5% of all timber used in UK house building could be traced to Russian oligarch-controlled forests<\/a><\/em>\u2014revealed that whilst all known examples of Australian-grown timber were correctly labelled, 63% of import samples carrying private certifications were incorrectly labelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--1\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.agriculture.gov.au\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/34282.pdf\">Click here to download the report.<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis indicates a lack of ability of third-party certification (including FSC certification) to act as an assurance to support the integrity of a product that is carrying a claim within the consumer market and undermines the credibility of the certification mark itself. These findings indicate importers are likely relying too heavily on third-party certification as a solution to conclude the negligible risk of illegal provenance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Source Certain combined market surveillance with lab analysis, to test more than 174 different items of timber-based products. The problems lie with imports: 37 of 74 imported items return results inconsistent with their claimed provenance or taxonomy, resulting in a 50 per cent failure rate. Impacted import categories included oak, teak, and birch products, a range of softwoods, and manufactured items such as veneers, engineered wood, and plywood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To read more about the Earthsight report, and why FSC International\u2019s general assembly will hold a key vote on how fraudulent timber will be managed, <a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/report-will-fsc-act-on-the-multi-billion-dollar-timber-fraud-in-its-scheme\/\">click here for Wood Central\u2019s special feature from Monday.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FSC\u2019s new blockchain-powered \u2018FSC Trace\u2019 platform &#8211; launched in May 2025 &#8211; could hold the key to help stamp out widespread fraud in the global supply chain for certified forest products. That is according to FSC International, which revealed that the new and improved technology (formerly FSC Blockchain) will, along with World Forest ID&#8217;s isotape [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"default","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[80,51,52,50,33,53,2,32,46,45,44,31],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[70],"class_list":{"0":"post-29711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-americas","9":"category-asia","10":"category-australia","11":"category-editors-picks","12":"category-europe","13":"category-featured","14":"category-global-news","15":"category-industry","16":"category-sustainability","17":"category-sustainable-forest-management","18":"category-top-stories"},"authors":[{"term_id":70,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jason","display_name":"Jason Ross","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/J-Ross-headshot.jpeg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/J-Ross-headshot.jpeg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29711"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29756,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29711\/revisions\/29756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29711"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=29711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}