Displaying items by tag: FSC

In the discussion forum, members can find the profile of the candidates, FAQs and the ballot papers.  On 8 July 2010, FSC sent the ballot papers and the candidates’ profile to all members by e-mail and by post to members without an e-mail address. If you have not submitted your ballot, kindly do so as the elected candidates will fill three upcoming vacancies on the FSC Board of Directors – one position for the Social South, one for the Social North and one for the Environmental South.

The Board of Directors consists of nine FSC members directly elected by the FSC membership. The FSC Board of Directors takes strategic decisions and its members represent the interests of their relevant chamber as well the FSC membership at large.

As an FSC member, you are the highest authority and the ultimate decision-taker in the Forest Stewardship Council. Please make your voice heard by voting for the Board of Directors. If you have not received your ballot papers, please download them from the members’ intranet or contact the FSC Membership Team.

FSC Director General Andre Giacini de Freitas will present on the topic of legality and the synergies between FSC and the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). The presentation takes place on Wednesday, 25 September 2010 in the technical session on the contribution of science to the fight against illegal logging.

The FSC side meeting “Impact of voluntary certification on forest management: research findings, needs and coalitions” will highlight cases of impacts of changed forest management practices due to FSC certification requirements. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 and feature panelists from CIFOR, FSC, the University of Washington, USA and the Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania.

The FSC side meeting “Strengthening forest conservation, communities and markets: FSC‘s Global Strategy” will address the many challenges and opportunities that FSC faces as it proceeds through its second decade. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, 25 August 2010 and feature panelists from RECOFTC, CIFOR, Kangwon National University, Korea and Yale University, USA.

For more information, please read the invitation and the detailed description of the side meetings or contact Ms. Anakarina Perez.

Mr. Elie Hakizumwami is the new Regional Director of FSC Africa. With 32 years of experience in natural resource management and outstanding efforts to promote responsible forestry in the Congo Basin, Mr. Hakizumwami will make a major contribution to consolidating FSC’s presence in the continent. He will take office on 1 August 2010.

The Regional Director will lead all activities of the FSC Africa Regional Office and the implementation of the FSC Africa Regional Strategy including supporting the development of National Initiatives in strategic countries in the region. As FSC’s official representative for the African continent, Mr. Hakizumwami will liaise with international organizations and processes active in the region and engage with government representatives on forest related matters.        

Mr. Hakizumwami has accumulated considerable experience in the coordination of regional programs and networks. He is joining FSC after 13 years of work on the Congo Basin where he assumed different key regional positions such as the Sustainable Use of Renewable Resources Initiative Specialist Group, the African Elephant Specialist Group, the Forestry Programme Regional Coordinator for WWF-Central Africa and the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) Regional Coordinator for Central Africa.

Mr. Hakizumwami holds an MSc in Natural Resources Management from the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC) of Enschede, The Netherlands.

In a letter steered by Congressmen Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to the U.S. Green Building Council, 79 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing 35 different states, have urged the organization to "accept all credible forest certification systems for qualification under the LEED rating system" including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.  On the heels of the letter from this bipartisan group of Members of Congress, USGBC today received a petition with nearly 6,000 signatories calling for LEED recognition of all "wood and paper products certified to independent, respected and credible standards including SFI, ATFS, CSA, FSC, and PEFC." In addition, six members of Congress have sent their own letters urging an inclusive LEED policy.

"From the halls of Congress to other elected officials across North America to architects, builders, family tree farmers and forestry and sustainability experts around the world, the support for a change in LEED has grown exponentially," said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI Inc.).  "Wood should be recognized for its environmental merits, and third-party certified forest products should be given additional credit."

More than three quarters of certified forests in North America are certified to standards not currently recognized by USGBC.  The letter from the House members states that maintaining the status quo will mean builders seeking LEED certification "would be discouraged to use third-party certified SFI and ATFS products" grown in the U.S., while opening LEED to other forest certification programs "could stimulate the market for American produced forest products and the communities and jobs that depend on both."

In a letter to USGBC President Rick Fedrizzi that was delivered with the SFI petition, Abusow wrote that it has "stimulated a tremendous outpouring of support, tapping into a broad and diverse community" and that "it's difficult to ignore the voices of almost 6,000 people from around the world who took the time to respond."

U.S. Governors and Canadian Officials Support Opening LEED

In addition to the petition signers and Members of Congress, 10 U.S. Governors – representing Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Oregon, Virginia and Washington – have written letters to the USGBC to voice their concerns over the current approach to wood product certification.   The Canadian Council of Forest Ministers as well as individual provincial ministers have also written letters to the USGBC to show their support for all credible forest certification standards.  To see a complete summary of the professional organizations and governments that have chimed in on this issue, visit sfiprogram.org/leed.

Global Recognition of Multiple Credible Certification Standards

Numerous green building rating systems around the globe have recognized all credible forest certification programs.  This includes ANSI/ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard, ANSI/GBI Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings, Built Green Canada, CASBEE in Japan, BREEAM in the United Kingdom and the Australian Green Building Council's Green Star Program.  In addition, green building codes, including the draft International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and ASHRE 189.1, also recognize multiple forest certification programs.

"The road through the USGBC review process has not been short or uncomplicated, and in the end, we hope the organization gets past this outdated process and the politics around the LEED forest certification policy. For the sake of our forests, our communities, the tens of thousands of family foresters who make their livelihoods from forestry, and the future of green building across North America and globally, it is time for USGBC to do the right thing and recognize all credible forest certification standards, including SFI, ATFS, PEFC, CSA and FSC," said Abusow. "It's what other green building programs and codes globally already have applied. Multiple forest certification programs push each other to do better, and they serve different needs."

About SFI Inc.

SFI Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, and is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program (sfiprogram.org), that is internationally recognized and among the largest in the world. It is one of the fastest-growing forest certification programs with close to 200 million acres/80 million hectares of SFI-certified forests across North America. The SFI Standard also includes unique fiber sourcing requirements that promote responsible forest management on all suppliers' lands. SFI chain-of-custody certification tracks certified, uncertified and recycled content as applicable in the product. The SFI forest standard is endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, a global umbrella organization that has strict requirements for endorsement. SFI Inc. is governed by a three-chamber board of directors representing environmental, social and economic sectors equally.

SOURCE Sustainable Forestry Initiative

Unilever’s sustainable paper and board packaging sourcing policy outlines goals and principles of the company’s sustainable sourcing of renewable material. In the policy, Unilever announces the ambitious goal to work with its suppliers to source 75 per cent of its paper and board packaging from sustainably managed forests or from recycled material by 2015, rising to 100 per cent by 2020.

Unilever requires suppliers to have mechanisms in place to ensure that virgin fiber paper packaging comes from forests that are not being converted to plantations or non-forest use, where traditional and civil rights are respected, and high conservation values are respected. The policy and the related FAQs clearly state that “the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme is the most comprehensive Forest Management Certification Scheme globally” and that “currently there are no other existing forest certification schemes that could address our concerns”. Additionally, the implementation guidelines to the sourcing policy consider FSC Controlled Wood as a criterion to prove that the virgin fiber is from non-controversial sources. 

The FSC Principles and Criteria on which the FSC standards are based require compliance with all applicable laws and international treaties, recognition and respect of indigenous peoples' rights, maintenance of the ecological functions and integrity of the forest, maintenance of High Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs) and prohibit conversion of forests or any other natural habitat.

To learn more about the FSC Principles and Criteria, please go to www.fsc.org/pc

Unilever’s sustainable paper and board packaging sourcing policy is available at Unilever Sustainability

The conference is the first step towards the establishment of an FSC National Office (NO) in Mozambique and the development of a national standard for FSC forest certification in the African country. This project delivers on Goal 5 of the FSC Global Strategy – to strengthen the FSC Global Network – by testing how well founded FSC offices from the North can support capacity-building of sister organizations in the South.

FSC Denmark is supporting FSC Mozambique in establishing AGREF - Association for Responsible Forestry in Mozambique (Associação pela Gestão Resposável das Florestas em Moçambique) with funding from the Danish Government. AGREF aims to promote and enhance responsible forestry in Mozambique through FSC certification and will become the FSC NO in the country.

To attend the conference, please write an email to Ms. Kümmel Nielsen with name, title, e-mail and phone number of the participant.

The conference is the first step towards the establishment of an FSC National Office (NO) in Mozambique and the development of a national standard for FSC forest certification in the African country. This project delivers on Goal 5 of the FSC Global Strategy – to strengthen the FSC Global Network – by testing how well founded FSC offices from the North can support capacity-building of sister organizations in the South.

FSC Denmark is supporting FSC Mozambique in establishing AGREF - Association for Responsible Forestry in Mozambique (Associação pela Gestão Resposável das Florestas em Moçambique) with funding from the Danish Government. AGREF aims to promote and enhance responsible forestry in Mozambique through FSC certification and will become the FSC NO in the country.

To attend the conference, please write an email to Ms. Kümmel Nielsen with name, title, e-mail and phone number of the participant.

The approval of the two national standards marks a major achievement for FSC Chile and the outcome of years of effort. Based on extensive public consultation and agreed by consensus, the two standards are supported by environmental, social and economic groups in the country. The FSC national standards are based on the international FSC Principles and Criteria but adapt these to national conditions by adding country-specific indicators.  

The Certification Bodies are required to inform all of their clients in Chile that they shall be assessed against the revised standard from 1 September 2010.The intervening 3 month period between the approval and implementation of the standards is in place for Certification Bodies and forest managers to adapt their systems and management practices respectively to the new standards.

For further information, please contact Richard Robertson, the FSC Policy Manager in charge of coordinating the development of FSC national standards.

The conditions set on the original approval ensured that the standard includes appropriate indicators for small, medium and low intensity operations (SLIMFs) and that SLIMFs are clearly defined.

Based on extensive public consultation and agreed by consensus, the standard is supported by environmental, social and economic groups in the country. The FSC national standards are based on the international FSC Principles and Criteria but adapt these to national conditions by adding country-specific indicators.  

The Certification Bodies are required to inform all of their clients in Papua New Guinea that they shall be assessed against the revised standard from 1 September 2010.The intervening 3 month period between the approval and implementation of the standards is in place for Certification Bodies and forest managers to adapt their systems and management practices respectively to the new standards.

For further information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., the FSC Policy Manager in charge of coordinating the development of FSC national standards.

On 24th March 2010, FSC Sweden submitted the SLIMF version of the national standard.  Since then an assessment has been made by FSC PSU and submitted to the FSC Director General (DG), who is in charge of national standards decisions until the FSC Policy and Standards Committee is fully implemented.  The Director General has approved the Swedish SLIMF Standard on 5th May 2010.

The Swedish SLIMF standard is a component of the national Swedish FSC standard that sets specific requirements for small and low intensity managed forests. On 24 February 2010 the "Swedish FSC Standard for Forest Certification" was approved. The Swedish national standard together with the SLIMF requirements will come into effect for all forest management certification in Sweden from 1st June 2010.

For further information, please contact Richard Robertson, the FSC Policy Manager in charge of coordinating the development of FSC national standards.

Related article: National Forest Management Standard for Sweden approved

Related article: FSC certification offered by Swedish economic association Södra