The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. Since its foundation in 1994, FSC has grown to become the world’s most respected and widespread forest certification system.
FSC's pioneering certification system, which now covers more than 200 million hectares of forest, enables businesses and consumers to choose wood, paper and other forest products made with materials that support responsible forestry.
Although trees are harvested, there is no net loss of forest over time.
FSC certification requires biodiversity to be maintained, and high conservation value areas - including old growth forests – to be protected.
FSC certification requires forest inhabitants to be consulted and engaged, and cultural rights to be maintained.
FSC certification requires training, safety and decent wages for all workers.
FSC forest management certification confirms that the forest is being managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers, while ensuring it sustains economic viability. FSC-certified forests are managed to strict environmental, social and economic standards.
There are ten principles that any forest operation must adhere to before it can receive FSC forest management certification. These principles cover a broad range of issues, from maintaining high conservation values to community relations and workers’ rights, as well as monitoring the environmental and social impacts of the forest management.
FSC chain of custody certification verifies that FSC-certified material has been identified and separated from non-certified and uncontrolled material as it makes its way along the supply chain, from the forest to the market.
Any company involved in the processing or transformation of FSC-certified products (e.g. manufacturing, repackaging, pack-splitting, relabelling, cutting to size or adding other forest-based components to the product) must be FSC certified in order to apply an FSC label to their products and/or sell them with an FSC claim.
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