News + Notes Vol 3 Issue 7 - July 29th, 2005

New FSC labels now in effect!

FSC has introduced new labels and standards to regulate their use. The new labels are aimed to be more consistent with the standard behind them and the objective of FSC to promote responsible forest management. These new FSC labels are obligatory for FSC certificate holders as of 1st July 2005.

FSC Pure, FSC Mixed Sources and FSC Recycled are the variations of the new labels. For mixed sources label, there are five variations.

These labels are the result of an open consultation process on the FSC Policy on Percentage Based Claims and the development of the new FSC standards for Chain of Custody. To facilitate the phase -in of the new labels, FSC has been providing guidance to FSC accredited certification bodies following the approval of the labels.

The new FSC labels are being distributed to FSC certificate holders in 'Brand Packs' by FSC accredited certification bodies. The FSC labels are available in English, Spanish for Latin America, Spanish for Spain, German, Dutch, French, Japanese and a multi-language version for Switzerland (English, French, Italian).

A new standard to regulate the use of the new labels was also developed. (FSC-STD-40-201 FSC on-product labeling requirements). Both the labels and the standard were approved by the FSC Board of Directors in September 2004.

FSC International Center and FSC National Initiatives, with the support of FSC accredited certification bodies are developing new translations of the labels which are expected to be ready in the coming months. FSC certificate holders can consult their FSC accredited certification bodies on any questions related to the use of the labels and the applicability of the on-product labeling requirements.

For more information please refer to www.fsc.org/trademark use or contact trademark@fsc.org

FSC's process makes it the most credible certification

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) continues to be the most credible forest management certification system, according to conclusions of three studies done by WWF in Europe. Several elements and values in FSC's processes have driven this distinction: significant improvements in forest management on the ground; its inclusiveness, independency, transparency and balanced participation of all major stakeholders, as well as its consistency across countries.

Conclusions indicate that those elements and values of FSC have fundamental importance to WWF. "WWF can therefore only recommend FSC to consumers, forest owners, governments, companies, financial institutions and other concerned stakeholders as delivering on credible forest certification."

WWF released its conclusions of three studies that compared FSC system and other forest certification schemes. The WWF/World Bank Alliance trial of the Questionnaire for Assessing the Comprehensiveness of Certification Schemes/Systems (QACC) in 12 European countries; the parallel certification test conducted by UPM in Europe and Canada; and an analysis of Corrective Action Requests (CAR) issued on forest management certificates of FSC and PEFC across six countries in Europe.

"FSC is unique because we understand the importance of involvement of all interested people in all of the FSC's processes" said Heiko Liedeker, FSC Executive Director. "These comprehensive studies have shown how FSC works on the ground. Unlike other schemes, the FSC system has proven to be a guarantee for responsible forest management."

"The QACC findings, the CAR analysis and the insights from the UPM field test clearly indicate the difference in quality between the schemes and the systems on values of fundamental importance to WWF. FSC is the system that best meets WWF´s criteria for credible certification," said Duncan Pollard, Head of the WWF European Forest Program. Source: WWF

FSC strengthening capacity building in Western European Countries

Representatives from environmental NGOs from Central and Eastern Europe attended a workshop aimed at strengthening participation in the FSC processes, held in June, 2005 in Lepsa and Vracea, Romania. The workshop was organized by the FSC Working Group in the Czech Republic and WWF Danube-Carpathian.

The capacity building workshop "Being a Strong Stakeholder" was attended by 15 representatives of NGOs from Croatia, Romania, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belarus, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

"The objective of the workshop was to enhance the capacity of environmental NGOs from Central and Eastern Europe," said Michael Rezek, Executive Director of FSC Czech Republic. "The FSC certified area is rapidly growing in that region and there is a need to have stronger stakeholders to make FSC successful; the role of NGOs is important in the implementation of responsible forest management".

Topics discussed during the workshop were related to knowing how to play an active role in all FSC processes, including how to get involved in FSC standard setting processes, certification processes, monitoring FSC performance in the field, consultations with certification bodies and HCVF processes.

As part of the workshop a field trip was also prepared to a certified community forest in Naruja Forest District in Vrancea County, in the south-east of the Romanian Carpathian Mountains.

Participants were trained by lecturers from FSC, WWF and FSC accredited certification bodies SmartWood/NEPCon and Soil Association, and the workshop was financed by Grassroots Foundation, Hatzfeld Foundation and WWF.

Source: FSC Czech Republic

FSC reaching the music giant in Japan

CD paper covers for Sony Music Communications Inc. (SMI) in Tokyo, Japan have been printed on FSC certified paper since July 1st, 2005. Under the chain of custody certificate number SA-COC-1383, Sony Music has produced CD paper covers of a Japanese rock singer and DVDs.

The CD by Shogo Hamada, a famous rock singer in Japan, and three DVDs by Ken Noguchi now carry the FSC trademarks.

The company became FSC certified in 2004, and since then it has been encouraging the use of FSC certified paper among its artists for their CDs paper covers to promote responsible use of the forests. In order to be able to use the FSC trademarks, Sony Music Communications in Japan has also been working with FSC paper producers and printer.

Source: FSC Japan

Controlled wood stakeholder meetings in the United states

The Forest Stewardship Council-United States (FSC-US) will be holding stakeholder consultation meetings on the new controlled wood standard in Portland, Oregon on August 15, 2005 and in Washington, DC on August 17, 2005.

The Washington meeting will be held a day before the FSC controlled wood working group meeting on August 18-19 in the same city.

A draft (Version 2.0) of the new standards for controlled wood are available on the FSC website at www.fsc.org under the link "Documents under Public Consultation". Comments can be sent to Sofia Ryder by email policy.standards@fsc.org.

For further information on the meetings, please contact Ned Daly at FSC US at +1 202 342-0415 or by email ndaly@fscus.org.

Chain of custody standards: call for input and feedback

FSC's new chain of custody standards for manufacturers are now being phased in by forest product companies worldwide. FSC is working with companies, FSC accredited certification bodies and other parties to monitor the uptake of the new standards and resolve any outstanding practical implementation issues.

The Policy and Standards Unit is looking for interested parties to participate in the process for review and improvement of these standards. Your feedback on the new standards is critical.

If you are interested in giving us your feedback or participating in the technical working group to review the standards, please contact Sofia Ryder by email to policy.standards@fsc.org. A sub-group to look specifically at recycled material and definitions related to recycling will also be formed. A revised version of the standards will be available for consultation in the coming weeks.

FSC national standard for small forests in Germany

A national standard for small forest management in Germany has been approved by the German FSC Board of Directors and members. The standard is now being translated to be sent to the FSC International Center for accreditation.

The standard for small forests is based on the FSC German standard. It is a simplified version of the German standard which was developed during 2004 within the framework of a project supported by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. "With the adoption of the standard for small forests, we are once more setting a benchmark for forest certification in Europe" said Hermann Graf Hatzfeldt, Chairman of the FSC Germany Working Group and forest owner. "This standard will probably set the precedent for other FSC National Initiatives in Central Europe to develop their own national standards for small forests."

The development process of the standard included feedback and comments from forests owners and others stakeholders in Germany. The German standard for small forest management is available in German on the homepage of the FSC Germany Working Group (www.fsc-deutschland.de)

Source: FSC Germany

FSC Expands in Russia

Certification in Russia continues to grow. Three forests in Archangelsk Oblast, in north-western Russia, covering an area of 550,000 hectares, are now FSC certified. Ust Pokshegskiy (SW-FM/COC-1509), Shalakushales (SW-FM/COC-1510) and Velskoye LPP (SW-FM/COC-1543) forests belonging to Titan were certified by NEPCon-SmartWood, an FSC accredited certification body.

"We see FSC as a clear sign of responsible business by both forest logging enterprises in the Titan Group, as well as the whole Titan Holdings organization. In addition, an FSC certificate can be considered to be a permit to enter the responsible wood product markets in Europe and other countries," explained Oleg Korneichev, Titan's Certification Director.

"Archangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill and Titan Holdings have contributed to the sustainability of forest management. As a result of their year and half long certification process, three forest logging enterprises in Archangelsk Oblast were granted FSC certificates, demonstrating that certified operations have reached an internationally acknowledged level of forest management," commented Kristjan Tõnisson, NEPCon´s Director in Russia.

Titan company is the main supplier of Archangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill, a pulp and paper industry leader in Russia. The mill produces more than 800 thousand tons of pulp and more than 500 thousand tons of paper products and cardboard annually.

Source: NEPcon

Buy the FSC-calendar 2006!

The FSC Germany Working Group has designed an FSC-calendar for 2006. With the purchase of one of these calendars, you can support forestry activities for forest enterprises in developing countries and certification for small enterprises.

The FSC Calendar has 12 pictures with different views of forests and it is printed, of course, on FSC certified paper. By buying an FSC calendar you also give one euro to the FSC German Fund and conserve a forest area in a size of two football pitches.

For further details, please contact: FSC Arbeitsgruppe Deutschland e.V., telephone: +49 (0) 761 / 38653-50, email: info@fsc-deutschland.de

FSC reinforcing the cork sector

Every year over 15 billion cork stoppers go into bottles of wine, keeping alive an economic activity that protects a precious ecosystem characterized with high levels of biodiversity. Recent FSC certification in forests from Portugal, Spain and Italy will support this activity based in the Mediterranean region.

In Spain, 11,405 hectares managed by La Consejería de Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Andalucía were certified in June 2005 by the FSC accredited certification body SmartWood (SW-FM/COC-1547). Cork forests of this region host endangered species such as the Iberian lynx.

In the Alentejo region of Portugal, 912 hectares of natural forests owned by FRUTICOR- Sociedade Agricola de Frutas e Cortiças, S. A, were certified in May 2005 by SmartWood (SW-FM/COC-NTFP-1515), and Celulose Beira Industrial (CELBI) S.A, a pulpwood plantation containing 2,255 hectares of cork forest, was also certified in April 2005 (SW-FM/COC-1489).

These certifications enable cork manufacturers like Amorim, which also owns two FSC-certified processing units (SW-COC-1527 and SW-COC-1336), to supply the market with FSC cork products. Portugal is home to a third of the world's cork oak forests and is the biggest producer.

In Italy, 66 hectares of cork forests in Tempio, Pausania in northern Sardinia were FSC certified by the FSC accredited certification body Soil Association/Woodmark (Stazione Sperimentale de Sughero SA-FM/COC-1436 and Sugherextra srl. SA-COC-1438). Sardinia holds 90 percent of Italy's cork forests.

"This is a major step for biodiversity conservation and for the cork trade," said Nora Berrahmouni, Coordinator of the WWF Cork Oak Landscapes Programme, which since 2004 aims to protect, manage and restore the natural wealth of cork oak forests by influencing the policies, practices and markets that affect them.

"Cork oak forests rank among the top biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean and in Europe. At the same time, they are the backbone of an entire economy. FSC certification will reinforce the already environmental-friendly characteristics of the cork economy, leading to new opportunities in cork markets," explained Nora Berrahmouni.

Production of cork stoppers is the most important part of the cork market, accounting for around 80 percent of the cork harvest by value. Other cork products include tiles, insulation materials, and products for industrial applications.

"This FSC certification for cork meets the increasing demand in many industrialized countries for sustainable natural products produced in an environmentally responsible way. As a key part of an overall marketing package, it will help to improve existing markets and create new ones," said Jamie Lawrence, Rainforests Alliance Forestry Division Manager for Western Europe.

Cork ecosystems are characterized by high levels of native species, with plant species reaching up to 135 species per 0.1 hectare. These forests also host endangered species like the Iberian Imperial eagle and the Barbary deer. But over the last decade, damaging policies, rural exodus and poor forest management and a change in the cork market have resulted in the degradation and loss of these unique forests.

"It is now crucial to reverse these trends and to ensure that cork oak landscapes are managed in a way which supports biodiversity as well as entire economies and a unique cultural heritage," added Nora Berrahmouni.

An increasing number of cork producers and processors support the need for FSC certification. Some of these initiatives include work developed by WWF, the Rainforests Alliance's SmartWood Program and the FSC Working Group in Spain since 2001.

WWF Cork Oak Landscapes Programme foresees that by 2007, more cork oak forests in the seven cork-producing countries will be FSC certified or at an advanced stage in the process.

Source: WWF Mediterranean Program www.panda.org/mediterranean

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