Comprehensive independent assessment confirms negligible illegality risk in U.S. hardwood sector

The result of the 33 assessments (one for each of the U.S. states producing commercial volumes of hardwood) is a ringing endorsement of the comprehensive scope of the forest governance framework in the U.S. hardwood sector and the high level of legal compliance.

Following a rigorous process of independent analysis, stakeholder consultation, and peer review, the team of forest governance experts, appointed by SHC, confirmed a negligible risk of illegal activity in the 33 states—which collectively account for over 97% of all commercial hardwood harvesting in the United States.

The 33 assessments were undertaken in line with the SHC “Framework for Jurisdictional Risk Assessment (JRA) of Legal Compliance of Hardwood Production in the USA”. The JRA Framework is designed to consider all aspects of legal compliance in the hardwood producing industry in the U.S., from point of harvest to point of export. It is applicable to hardwood logs sourced from forest properties used in the production of sawn wood, mouldings, veneer, plywood, engineered wood products, and co-products from hardwood mill residuals.

The assessments were prepared by Dovetail Partners, a 501(c)(3) organisation which has more than twenty years of experience with responsible sourcing standards, environmental assessments, and associated expert review and consultation processes, with a strong focus on small-scale and non-industrial hardwood forests.

The Dovetail Partners Risk Assessment Team was composed entirely of U.S.-based experts with a high level of familiarity and experience with the U.S. legal framework, as it applies to forestry and the forest products sector. In addition to the core team, subject matter experts were engaged as needed throughout the project to address specific requirements of the standard within local contexts. Each assessment was subject to further scrutiny by George White, an independent expert appointed by SHC to ensure the process was fully aligned to the requirements of the SHC JRA Framework.

Each State Risk Assessment typically consists of a 60+ page document following the outline set out in the JRA Framework. On completion, the assessments collectively amount to around 2000 pages of analysis and refer to over 3500 reports, statutes and academic papers. In the process of producing the assessments, 318 individuals and organisations were contacted, of which 169 were consulted directly. The insight of the local consultees assisted greatly in helping the assessors understand their realities in addition to the enormous volume of raw data and public information available.

According to the summary of the JRAs by George White:

“The JRAs, prepared by Dovetail Partners and endorsed by SHC, consider the hardwood forests of the United States in all their complexity and diversity, in terms of ecology, geography and role within society. Each assessment considers the private sector, dominated by small-scale, non-industrial producers (family forests), through to larger industrial operations and state or federally owned and managed operations. They consider federal laws and state laws and the role and effectiveness of forest governance.

The assessments reveal that forest management in the USA operates under layers of federal, state and local regulations and guidelines that landowners, foresters and harvesting professionals must follow to protect water quality, wildlife habitat, soil, and other resources. Laws addressing safety and workers’ rights also routinely govern forestry activities. Training, continuing education and certification for loggers and foresters support continuous improvement and use of the latest information and best practices in forest management.

The overall finding of the 33 jurisdictional risk assessments is that there is a negligible risk for all criteria and indicators across all of the States assessed. Legal compliance within the US hardwood sector is the norm and non-compliance is both rare and non-systematic. This finding is reached after extremely comprehensive and thorough independent assessment consistently using a detailed and broad-based framework”.