In 2007, the consultative process to develop a Global Strategy for FSC came up with five independent goals and 71 indicators to drive the future work of FSC. Following the adoption of the strategy, FSC created its monitoring and evaluation program. Measuring the impacts of certification on sustainable forest management has now become a priority for FSC. Given the broad mission and global scope of FSC's work, FSC relies on different approaches to assess its social, economical, environmental, and political impact.

Most information about FSC’s impact is generated within the FSC system, namely from audits of forest management units. Annual reports about each FSC certified forest management unit are describing how forest management had to improve to meet the requirements of the FSC standards, and to gain or maintain FSC certification. Non conformities of the management with the standards are described in the certification reports as Corrective Action Requests (CAR). The CARs can be used as indicators to show where a change or adaption of management practices was required to comply with FSC standards. This approach is an indirect method to evaluate the effects of certification processes, based on evaluations done by certi-fication bodies.

As part of current efforts to improve its data bank system, FSC is planning to add to the data bank 12 new impact indicators, ranging from ecosystem services and biodiversity to occupational safety and health and other social aspects like sites of special social significance.

As an add-on to the questions asked at regular forest inspections, certification bodies will then be encouraged to report back on these 12 im-pact indicators. Over time, this data bank system will provide more easily accessible realtime data on impacts from FSC certified forests worldwide, allowing to keep better track of FSC’s progress against the FSC Global Strategy.

FSC promotes and looks into independent case studies carried out by universities, research institutions and other organizations, which re-quires consulting and networking with partners such as ISEAL, Certification Bodies, NGOs, government aid organizations and researchers. Some of these researchers are analyzing certification reports and CARs, others are for example conducting field studies with a focus on ecology, socio-political case studies, or economic analyses of timber markets. Networking with researchers individually and at international conferences, providing them with access to information, and getting them in touch with other researchers, is one of the aspects of this work. Because researchers approach their fields of interests with different methodologies, it remains difficult for FSC to compare the researchers’ results about FSC’s impact. One goal of networking is therefore to organize more aligned and streamlined approaches to impact assessments.

FSC is member of the ISEAL Alliance. Together with the other member organizations, FSC is contributing to the development of a joint "Code of Good Practice for Assessing the Impacts of Standards Systems". This Impacts Code will be a credibility tool, designed as international reference for credible social and environmental standards systems like FSC. To learn more about the ISEAL Alliance, please go to www.isealalliance.org

FSC’s monitoring and evaluation manager collects and analyzes research papers. In 2008, a review of more than 300 research papers revealed strong evidence that FSC has a positive impact on forest management in numerous social, environmental and economic aspects. FSC’s monitoring and evaluation manger welcomes any research papers touching the area of forest management certification and processes around FSC.