wood harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights, wood harvested in HCV forests and wood harvested from areas where genetically modified trees are planted. Accreditation To maintain independence between the standards it sets and the operations seeking certification of both kinds, FSC does not conduct certification audits itself. FSC has developed rigorous procedures and standards to evaluate whether organizations of certifiers (certification bodies) can provide independent and competent evaluation (certification) services. This process is known as ‘accreditation’. A potential certification body must gain FSC accreditation to be able to evaluate, monitor and certify companies to FSC standards. To become FSC accredited, certifiers have to comply with an extensive set of rules and procedures which are verified by ASI - Assurance Services International GmbH - an international assurance partner for leading voluntary sustainability standards and initiatives such as MSC and RSPO. This includes an office audit and the witnessing of one or more audits in the field. ASI monitors accredited certification bodies to ensure the appropriateness of their operations can be continuously guaranteed. To control the continued implementation of FSC rules and procedures, every year ASI conducts at least one office and one field assessment for each FSC accredited certification body. The exact number and distribution of ASI assessments takes a number of complex factors into account (geographic areas, policies or products that carry increased risk) and the number of FSC certificates handled by an accredited certification body, and is meant to ensure that the certification services delivered by the certifier meet the requirements of the FSC. Some summaries of ASI surveillance audits are publicly available on the ASI website. If an FSC accredited certification body is found to not fully comply with FSC rules and procedures, nonconformities (NCs) are raised (see above). Facts and figures In September 2012, some 165 million hectares were certified to FSC's Principles and Criteria in 80 countries. Around 24,000 FSC Chain of Custody certificates were active in 107 countries. The FSC website has statistics on regional distributions, ownership and forest type and numbers of FSC certificates representing all valid forest management and chain of custody certificates. Costs The expenses for successful forest management certification typically are divided into: Costs for an enhancement of sustainability; Costs for audits (these are controlled by third parties); and Secondary costs (e.g. losses of stumpage revenues). FSC Friday FSC Friday is a once-a-year event dedicated to the celebration of