What should we, as organizations, do to prepare our supply chains for this change?

For supply chain sites and brands that are certified by the CCS, the development of the Materials Matter Standard will not create significant changes in the certification process as sites will continue to be audited to the CCS. With that said, the Standards Claims and Logo Use Policies will be revised to reflect the new standard logo and language. There will also be a reduced auditing scope for sites currently certified to the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) that is implemented.

It is best practice for brands and supply chain sites to begin engaging with upstream partners in their supply networks to support their adoption of the Materials Matter Standard. Sites at the raw material production and first processing stages (Tier 4) will play the most pivotal role in meeting the new requirements. However, proactive transition initiatives further downstream may facilitate the uptake and flow of certified fiber during this shift.