FSC: Forest Stewardship Council

Forestry certification

With so many questionable ‘green’ claims out there, it’s important to stick to a certification system that’s trusted and watertight.

In 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development agreed that in order to be truly sustainable a forest would have to be managed according to three criteria:

• Environmental
• Social
• Economic

Of the forestry harvested in the UK only a small percentage goes into paper products, so most virgin fibre is imported. Some of this imported fibre will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), but most of it will be uncertified.

FSC certification is widely accepted to be the most stringent. Unlike other schemes, the emphasis is on tracking fibre all the way from the forest to the end use, so the user can be certain of the fibre’s origins.

Many new environmental certification schemes have been launched by forest and paper companies – such as the Nordic Swan label, but Greenpeace and WWF don’t regard these schemes as watertight. For example, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification Schemes (PEFC) – an international forest industry initiative that acts as an umbrella for many smaller national forestry schemes – “does not comply with the basic requirements for forest certification”, according to WWF’s Forests for Life campaign. (Source: Green Futures)

Until the PEFC redresses the balance, FSC is the way to go.

The Forest Stewardship Council is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests.

The number of FSC-certified forests is growing rapidly, covering 84 million hectares worldwide – about 10% of the world’s production forest.

Forests are inspected and certified against the 10 principles and criteria of Forest Stewardship which take into account environmental, social and economic factors. The FSC is the only certification scheme endorsed by NGOs worldwide, although recently even the FSC has proven not to be completely watertight.

In addition to forest management and certification, the FSC Chain of Custody tracks the timber from the forest to the paper mill and then to the printer.

If a printer is FSC certified, then the end product can carry the FSC label ensuring that there has been no contamination between FSC and non-FSC material. However, the Chain of Custody is broken if the manufacturing mill or printer is not FSC certified.

The FSC Principles of forest stewardship include consideration for:

• Indigenous people’s rights
  Respect for the legal and customary rights of indigenous peoples to own, use and manage their lands, territories and resources
• Community and workers’ rights
  Forest management must maintain or enhance long-term economic and social well-being for these groups
• Environmental impact
  Conserve biodiversity and make sure forest retains its ecological balance and integrity
• Monitoring and assessment
  The condition and productivity of the forest, and the environmental impacts of management, must be monitored
• Maintenance of high conservation value forests
  Operations must maintain or enhance the special attributes of these forests

Overview of the FSC Principles and Criteria

Principle 1. Compliance with all applicable laws and international treaties

Principle 2. Demonstrated and uncontested, clearly defined, long–term land tenure and use rights

Principle 3. Recognition and respect of indigenous peoples' rights

Principle 4. Maintenance or enhancement of long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities and respect of worker’s rights in compliance with International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions

Principle 5. Equitable use and sharing of benefits derived from the forest

Principle 6. Reduction of environmental impact of logging activities and maintenance of the ecological functions and integrity of the forest

Principle 7. Appropriate and continuously updated management plan

Principle 8. Appropriate monitoring and assessment activities to assess the condition of the forest, management activities and their social and environmental impacts

Principle 9. Maintenance of High Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs) defined as environmental and social values that are considered to be of outstanding significance or critical importance

Principle 10. In addition to compliance with all of the above, plantations must contribute to reduce the pressures on and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests.