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Russian Auditors: A Potential Key in the Certification Process

by Valery E. Nikolaev

Note from the editors: One of the first questions that surfaces in the voluntary forestry certification debate today is who will conduct the necessary audits (evaluations of timber products and assigning the "green label" of approval) and who will foot the hill for these audits. Currently, there are no Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-accredited auditing firms in Russia, so timber companies seeking such a service hare no choice but to pay the higher prices charged by foreign firms.
An alternative to foreign firms and unaffordable prices, however, is in close reach. Russia has its own organization of auditors who have honed their knowledge of Russian legislation and who now certify timber companies' production process as well as an entire spectrum of timber and non-timber forest products. The following article addresses the prospect of involving Russian auditors in the forestry certification process, including the FSC process.

• Sixty certifying agencies for timber and timber products;
• Approximately 90 researchers at the Certification Center;
• More than 50 agencies certifying quality control systems within the timber industry.

With a well-developed infrastructure already in place, I propose that our center could serve as a potential foundation for forestry certification, including the process approved by FSC. I foresee this potential component of our center encompassing the scientific and methodological aspects of certification and also the training of Russian personnel. The center could also facilitate the harmonization of FSC Principles; ISO international standards; and Russian forestry legislation, comprised of: the Russian

Forest Code and approximately 70 other legal documents. The appearance of Russian timber companies on the foreign market has become a central issue; therefore, work needs to be done as quickly as possible on this harmonization process so that these companies can compete on the environmentally aware markets in Europe and North America.

Today, part of the Russian forestry sector has already expressed interest in implementing a certification process in Russia. If certification implies FSC, whose ten principles regulate forest management, then the leaders of the forestry sector are prepared to lend full support to these principles. But, in reality, these managers must struggle with everyday problems and concerns such as providing a living for their employees, maintaining means of production, and following market trends, to name but a few. Thus, all of these professionals approach certification in the same way: on one hand, they acknowledge the expenses in implementing certification; on the other hand, they see the social, environmental, and economic benefits. Naturally they wish to maximize their return on any investment made in certification. 1 believe that it is fully probable to achieve the maximum effect for the minimum expense by employing our highly knowledgeable Russian auditors to take on the task of certifying forests throughout our expansive country in a professional, and more importantly, timely manner. Valery E. Nikolaev is the director of the Certification Center at the Moscow State University of Forestry.

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