Forest Certification Services

1. The successful Contractor shall be an accredited certification body for both Forest Stewardship Council® and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative®, or it may be that the bidder has a designated subcontractor such that both FSC® and SFI® accreditation can be provided. A copy of the appropriate accrediting documents for both FSC® and SFI® shall be provided prior to an Agreement being executed.

The purpose of this solicitation is to identify and select a contractor to provide forest certification auditing services and perform a 4 ^th -year surveillance audit consistent with Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) standards.

Scope of Work:
The selected Contractor, upon executing a formal Agreement with ODNR-DOF, shall identify the appropriate Point of Contact (POC) to begin the audit planning process. The POC shall be provided with and review prior years’ certification audit records and other relevant documentation, as needed, to determine the appropriate scope and needs for the 2025 certification audit to meet FSC® and SFI® standards for continued forest certification. This should include, but is not limited to, ensuring the necessary Management Units have been audited and the appropriate Standards are evaluated for a 4 ^th -year surveillance audit. Draft FSC® and SFI® Audit Reports shall be provided to ODNR-DOF within 60 days of the completion of field audits with Final Audit Reports being provided within 30 days of ODNR-DOF’s final review and approval of the Draft Reports.

The successful planning and execution of field-based audits conforming to the appropriate FSC® and SFI® Standards for a 4 ^th -year Surveillance audit along with delivery of Final Audit Reports detailing ODNR_DOF’s compliance and conformance to the principles and criteria from each certifying body shall constitute acceptable performance for the Agreement and permit payment for services.