Today, FSC certification is leading the path of responsible forestry worldwide. With about 90 million hectares certified in over 70 countries, FSC has positioned itself as THE leader in this area. FSC is recognized by the corporate and governmental sectors and the NGO community as the model to ensure that forest resources are maintained for today and for future generations.

The FSC label is widely recognized within key European and North American markets and is specified by various governments and financial institutions as the preferred system for sourcing forest products.

FSC offers three types of certification:
a) Forest managers or owners who want to prove that their forest operation is socially beneficial and managed in an environmentally appropriate and economically viable manner can apply for Forest Management (FM) certification.

b) Companies that manufacture, process or trade in timber or non-timber forest products and want to demonstrate to their customers that they operate responsible sourcing policies or want to comply with public or private procurement policies where FSC is the preferred option can obtain Chain of Custody (CoC) certification.

c) Forest Management companies that comply with the five FSC Controlled Wood criteria will be able to supply FSC Controlled Wood to FSC Chain of Custody operations. FSC Controlled Wood supports the production of FSC Mixed Sources by providing FSC certified companies with tools to control the non-FSC certified wood in their product groups to avoid the wood produced in socially and environmentally most damaging ways.

FSC does not issue certificates itself. The certification process is carried out by independent third-party entities called “certification bodies”. These certification bodies assess FM and CoC operations against FSC standards and are authorized to issue FSC certificates.

In order to ensure consistency and quality in the certification assessment, Accreditation Services International (ASI) delivers accreditation services to FSC. This means that in order to be able to carry out FSC certification, certification bodies need to be accredited by ASI according to FSC international requirements.

5 Steps towards FSC certification:

1. Contact one or several FSC accredited certification bodies . The certification body will request some basic information about your operation, so they can give you first estimate of the costs and timescale. You will also receive information about the requirements for certification.

2. You decide which certification body you would like to work with and sign a contract or agreement.

3. A certification audit takes place to assess your company’s qualifications for certification.

4. An audit report will be produced from the collected data, which will be the basis for the certification decision.

5. If the certification decision is positive, you receive a five-year FSC certificate.

The certification body will conduct annual surveillance audits to verify your continued compliance with the certification requirements.

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