FSC Trace - Blockchain-based Forest Product Traceability
Sector: Primary sector · Industry: Forestry · Organisation: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) · Maturity level: Pilot
FSC Trace is a blockchain-based platform by the Forest Stewardship Council for tracking FSC-certified forest products along global supply chains. The private blockchain solution enables companies to transparently document the origin and sustainability of their wood products and efficiently verify compliance with regulations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation. The system has been in beta phase since the first quarter of 2024 with pilot tests in selected supply chains.
Documentation status
- Project status: Pilot
- Evidence: Evidence high
- Editorial review: Ufuk Avci, 15 April 2026
Description
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) developed FSC Trace as a blockchain-based platform to trace wood products from certified forest to end product. Unlike public blockchains, FSC uses a private blockchain with access restrictions — only authorised actors can read and write data. Primary driver: The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires first importers from 30.12.2026 to prove that products do not originate from areas deforested after 31.12.2020.
FSC was founded in 1993 and has 173 million hectares of certified forest worldwide. The existing Chain-of-Custody system (CoC) was paper-based — cumbersome and prone to fraud. FSC Trace solves this: every transaction between trading partners is documented on the blockchain with geolocation coordinates of the harvest site, harvest time, wood species, product groups, and quantities. The blockchain allows the next link in the chain to verify the origin without disclosing all involved companies — a critical data protection aspect for competing companies. FSC Trace is fully integrated with the FSC Risk Assessment Framework and earth observation tools: satellite images can be used to verify that no forest was cleared in the reported geolocation after 2020. For EUDR compliance: all due diligence relevant data is automatically consolidated and available on demand for authorities. Use is free for FSC license holders.
Perspectives
B2B — organisations perspective
Wood and paper processing companies that must demonstrate EUDR compliance by 30.12.2026 can document their entire supply chain with geolocation and harvest times on a blockchain via FSC Trace — directly auditable by authorities.
B2C — consumers perspective
Consumers can be confident through FSC-labelled products that the wood comes from verifiably legal and sustainably managed forests — blockchain documentation makes the origin tamper-proof.
Employees perspective
Employees must adapt to new digital workflows and complete training to use the blockchain platform. At the same time, they are relieved from manual, repetitive documentation tasks and can focus more on value-adding activities.
Benefits
General
- Blockchain technology ensures tamper-proof and transparent documentation of the entire supply chain of wood products.
- Automated compliance checks reduce administrative effort and significantly speed up the verification of regulatory requirements.
- Improved data quality and transparency strengthen the trust of all stakeholders in the sustainability of the products.
B2B — organisations
- Companies can significantly reduce their compliance costs through automated documentation and reporting while strengthening their market position through increased transparency.
Employees
- Employees are freed from time-consuming manual documentation tasks and can focus on more strategic and value-adding activities.
Challenges
General
- Integration into existing systems and business processes requires significant technical expertise and careful planning.
- Successful implementation depends on the willingness of all supply chain actors to share their data and establish new workflows.
B2B — organisations
- Companies must invest in new hardware and software infrastructure and comprehensively train their employees in the new technology.
Employees
- Employees must acquire new digital skills and adapt to changed workflows, which may initially lead to resistance.
Technology foundation
FSC Trace uses a private blockchain technology, also called a consortium blockchain, where only direct trading partners have access to the stored information. This technology is particularly suitable for supply chains as it simultaneously ensures transparency for authorised actors and data protection for sensitive business information.
Implementation examples
FSC Trace Beta Pilot Programme
FSC wanted to create a solution that meets the growing regulatory requirements such as the EU Deforestation Regulation. At the same time, the credibility of FSC certification was to be strengthened through increased transparency.
The Forest Stewardship Council has been conducting pilot trials of FSC Trace in selected supply chains since the first quarter of 2024.
FSC began the beta phase of FSC Trace in the first quarter of 2024 and is testing the platform in selected pilot supply chains. The implementation includes the integration of geographic information and earth observation tools as well as the gradual opening to various licence holder groups. By the end of November 2024, all FSC licence holders are to have access to the platform.
The platform solves the problem of complex traceability in global forest supply chains and reduces the administrative effort for compliance evidence. In addition, data quality and transparency throughout the supply chain are improved.
Tags
Supply Chain, Sustainability, Compliance, Traceability, Certification