This is a guest article from Greg Moore, Director at FenCert.
The FSC Trademark denotes a commitment at the beginning of a product’s life cycle to conservation principles, as well as social and economic considerations. Rather than just being another box to tick on a businesses’ checklist, the ability to display the FSC label is being driven by an ever-growing consumer demand.
Greg Moore developed this FSC Group Scheme where hundreds of businesses fall under one umbrella certificate. FenCert, or more specifically Greg and his son, Adam, act as their members’ chain of custody managers and are a continuous presence throughout the process: providing staff training on FSC compliance, preparing documentation, implementation, and advising on logo use.
Group schemes aren’t unique, with a proliferation of smaller businesses looking to keep up with larger organisations to prove their environmental credentials, driven by ethics as well as profit margins. However, FenCert believe they’ve created an offering that stands out. Their customer base certainly points to that: “We’ve seen a 150% increase in customers in the last four years, which we’re incredibly proud of especially considering the challenges posed by a two-year pandemic.” One of the key reasons behind this, Greg believes, is the stress-free, low-cost and time-efficient nature of FenCert’s ability to guide its members through the process. He credits the efficiency, in part, to the company’s in-house, state of the art software, ‘Anzat’.
“The Anzat software has been a game-changer for us. Although the initial investment was considerable, both financially and in time spent to prepare the bespoke software, it has meant we can now complete audits and generate comprehensive reports which transfer data directly to the contents of the FSC procedure manual”, Greg explains, “the system has enhanced the accuracy of the data, meaning we have the assurance we are producing safe, reliable certification for the community.”
One of the most transformative offerings of Anzat is its reports section. Working in tandem with the Certification Body Interface NRM Ltd and FSC, FenCert has crafted reports that can present complex cross-related data in a simplified format, providing full, transparent visibility. “We have built a system, which is the bedrock of FenCert, that adopts a risk-based approach with Interface to analyse each member and their FSC complexity to provide targeted support.”
Not only has FenCert been busy futureproofing itself through its technology, it’s also seeking to recruit and train the next generation of auditors. “The industry hasn’t always attracted employees fresh from education, but it’s a career path that allows people to make a real difference to the environmental practices of businesses big and small”, Greg explains. FenCert is looking to onboard ambitious young members to its growing team, beginning with Greg’s 26-year-old son and business management graduate, Adam.
Much like trees in the woodland, the only way is up for FenCert, especially at a time when there’s an undeniable drive globally to protect the world’s forests and, therefore, for consumers to make more informed decisions. If you would like to find out more about the company, or contact Greg, details can be found on FenCert’s website: www.fenconsult.co.uk.