Practical guidance, self-assessment and traceability tools for forest managers, tree farmers, forestry workers and timber businesses. We help you improve how you work, keep reliable records and show buyers where your timber comes from.
Our success is measured on the ground: forests protected, livelihoods strengthened, records that hold up and supply chains made more transparent. Responsible practice should create value in its own right, whether or not you ever pursue certification.
Certification may recognise progress, but real-world improvement is the purpose.
The same improvement journey runs through ISRI Forestry, ISRI Aquaculture and ISRI Safe Food.
Records support verification. On their own they do not establish that timber is legal, sustainably managed or eligible for a particular claim.
Eight questions for your kind of work. See which practices are in place and what to improve next.
Take the self-assessmentWhat common source, harvest, transit and delivery records help show, and what they cannot prove on their own.
Read the guideFollow one lot of teak from a farm plot to a buyer, including a discrepancy caught at the depot.
Follow the lotISRI explains the practice. S360 helps you implement and record it. Independent assessors recognise it, if you choose that route.
Each pillar is something you can improve, record and show. Start with the ones that matter most for your work.
Keep forest ecosystems and their ecological values intact.
Manage forests and tree resources so they keep producing.
Harvest only what is authorised, and document it.
Safe, fair work and real engagement with communities.
Reliable links from source to buyer.
Know what is required of you and close the gaps.
The pillars are shared, but what we ask and what evidence matters depends on your source and activity. A farmer growing trees on private farmland is not assessed like a natural forest manager.
Natural forests, with their ecological and social considerations.
Planted trees, farm-grown timber and other managed tree resources.
Forest-dependent communities, smallholders and producer groups.
Traders, depots, sawmills, veneer, plywood and other wood businesses.
Each pathway names the practical responsibilities and the records worth keeping. Pick the one closest to your work.
Farmers, plantation owners, tree growers and producer groups.
Why start here: a practical entry point for individual growers and groups, and a route to better prices and buyer confidence.
Forest managers, community institutions, forest-dependent communities and forestry organisations.
Take care: legal responsibilities, community rights and permitted activities vary widely by forest category and state. Confirm what applies before acting.
Timber traders, depots, sawmills, veneer, plywood and other wood processors, and their buyers.
The common problem: businesses hold invoices, permits and stock registers but still cannot show how one finished product connects to its source.
At every step the question is the same: what links this stage to the one before it? Follow one lot from a farm plot to a buyer.
Exact documents depend on the state, the source, the species and the activity. Check the rules that apply to you.
Possessing a document is not the same as being able to show where timber came from. Each record is one link in a chain.
| Record | Helps show | Does not prove on its own |
|---|---|---|
| Land or forest record | Who owns or manages the area the trees grew on | That a particular log came from that land |
| Felling or harvest permission, where required | That harvesting of the stated species and quantity was authorised | That only the authorised trees were felled |
| Harvest record | Date, species, number of logs and volume taken from a plot | Legality, unless matched to the permission |
| Lot marking or log tag | Which logs belong to which lot as they move | Origin, unless the mark is linked to source records |
| Transit permit, where required | That a consignment was authorised to move | Sustainable management, or conclusive original source |
| Delivery challan or receipt | What arrived, when, and in what quantity | That it matches what was dispatched, unless checked |
| Stock register | Material held, received and issued | Correct balances, unless reconciled regularly |
| Production record | Which input lots made which output lots, and the yield | Segregation, unless lots are kept apart physically |
| Sales invoice | What was sold, to whom, in what quantity | Source or claims, unless linked to inventory records |
Choose your kind of work and answer eight questions. You get a picture of what is in place and a short list of next improvements. Your answers stay in this browser.
ISRI initiatives aim to improve how people produce, manage resources, protect the environment and take part in supply chains. Our focus is practical improvement, stronger capabilities, responsible practice, reliable records and better economic opportunities for producers, workers, communities and businesses.
Certification, where relevant, can give external recognition of these efforts. It is not our end goal. We measure success by improvements on the ground, livelihoods strengthened, resources protected and supply chains made more transparent and responsible.
This lets us work with organisations that want to improve even if they cannot afford certification, do not need it for their market, or choose not to pursue it.
| Area | Our primary objective | Role of certification |
|---|---|---|
| Forest management | Forest health, regeneration and responsible resource use | Recognition of practices where applicable |
| Farm and plantation forestry | Productivity, resource management and market opportunities | Optional recognition where relevant |
| Workers and communities | Safety, skills, working conditions and livelihoods | May provide a framework for assessing practices |
| Timber traceability | Source visibility, recordkeeping and supply-chain integrity | May support evidence requirements of relevant schemes |
| Compliance | Understand and meet applicable legal and buyer requirements | Separate from certification; certification does not replace legal compliance |
| Business development | Commercial opportunities and buyer confidence | One possible route to market recognition, not a guaranteed outcome |
ISRI helps people improve forestry practice at the source. S360 connects the resulting records and evidence to the supply chain and the market.
| Activity | ISRI Forestry | S360 platform |
|---|---|---|
| Guidance | Educational content and practical guidance | Guidance available inside daily workflows |
| Baseline assessment | Assessment methods and indicators | Captures assessments and recorded gaps |
| Improvement planning | Technical recommendations and training | Corrective actions with owners and deadlines |
| Source records | What should be recorded | Source and production records |
| Traceability | Principles and evidence requirements | Links source, lot, transport, inventory and processing records |
| Due diligence | Requirements and evidence expectations | Supplier, source, risk and document information |
S360 does not turn incomplete records or a completed self-assessment into a claim of legal compliance, sustainable management or certification eligibility.
We are starting with one concentrated chain in India: a timber source, a depot or trader, and one or more processing units. We measure what changes in practice.
| What we measure | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Sampled lots linked to source records | Shows whether origin can actually be traced |
| Sampled movements with required transport documents | Shows control over timber in transit |
| Transactions reconciled with stock records | Shows whether quantities add up |
| Time to retrieve evidence for one lot | Shows how usable the records are |
| Open gaps and corrective actions closed | Shows improvement over time |
| Discrepancies identified and investigated | Shows the system catches problems |
These indicators show operational improvement. They do not on their own prove legality or sustainability.