Verification of Supply Chain Certificate Validity and Scope Schedules
Verify certificate status against public scope schedules to ensure product group codes, grammages, and converting sites explicitly cover every delivered batch.
Percentage System Rules
Chain Of Custody
Chain of custody accounting frameworks govern the proportion of certified material that a mill can claim across its total paperboard production output. Under these guidelines, percentage system rules allow a manufacturer to mix certified and non-certified fibers within their production process, provided that the certified output claim does not exceed the certified input ratio. This system governs the environmental labeling of folding cartons and shipping cases, setting the boundary for when a product can carry the certified mix logo.
It applies to mills and converters that process mixed fiber streams to maintain continuous production.
Accounting Formula
Mills calculate their available certified volume by tracking the mass of certified pulp entering the pulper over a set period. If seventy percent of the incoming pulp is certified, then seventy percent of the paperboard produced from that batch can be sold as certified. The remaining thirty percent must be sold as non-certified stock.
This system allows mills to avoid the expensive clean-downs and separation of fiber lines that are required by the physical separation method. However, they must maintain a rolling ledger that balances these inputs and outputs over a maximum period of twelve months, subject to annual audits by independent certification bodies.
Market Access
Packaging converters use this method to source certified boards without paying the premium associated with fully segregated stocks. It provides a practical path for brands to support sustainable forestry through their purchasing decisions. In doing so, the system increases the overall volume of responsibly managed forests in the global supply chain.