Become an FSC organizational member
Five easy steps to become an organizational member:
1. Download the relevant documents
Application documents (English / Spanish)
2. Fill in the application form
In the form we ask you to:
- indicate your choice of chamber
- describe what your organization does
- describe how these activities support the FSC Principles and Criteria
- have the form signed by both the organization’s CEO and designated representative
3. Attach the following information (see requirements list)
- the latest annual report
- publicly available financial information
- list of Board of Directors and their affiliations
- information on forest operations (if applicable)
- other information illustrating aims and objectives of your organization. This can be reports, history, brochures, newsletters or other.
- two letters of support by existing FSC members. To make this easy you will find a sample letter in the downloaded documents. Browse for the list of FSC members (English / Spanish). If there are no FSC members in your country yet, you can ask other relevant organizations, such as FSC accredited certification bodies or NGOs established in the country.
- organizational statutes or articles of incorporation
If you are a Non-profit organization, please also include:
- Non-profit evidence
- Information on funding
If you intend to become a member of the economic chamber, please
include:
- Information on commercial activities and relations
- Information relating to the whole group (parent company or branch if applicable)
- Note that your signature applies also to the “Commitment to get FSC-certified” in the application letter. This includes the commitment to become FSC certified. Please adjust or delete the statement as required.
4. Send the completed application to:
FSC International Center GmbH
Membership Officer
Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5
53113 Bonn Deutschland/ Germany
or , you can speed up the process by sending us an electronic copy of your application to: membership @fsc.org
After you submit your application
The membership committee will decide on the approval of your application. This will take a minimum of four weeks.
Once your application is approved, you immediately have full rights and obligations. As FSC member you have the following obligations:
- take active part in board elections
- pay annual fees in the given time frame
- inform the FSC secretariat in case of changing contact details as well as organizational changes
We issue the first invoice upon approval of your application. The annual membership fee depends on the size of your organization. You can pay your membership fees on-line. If you prefer to pay by other means you can download the payment form (English / Spanish).
We automatically renew your FSC membership each year.
All membership documents at a glance
Membership documents in English
Documentos de membresía en español
Frequently asked questions
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Which chamber should I join?
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FSC members are grouped in three chambers: Environmental, Social and Economic.
Please choose the chamber which best reflects your professional activities.
Join the Environmental chamber
”Our work is committed to environmentally appropriate forest management. We are non-profit.”
Examples of FSC members today are WWF, Greenpeace and many local environmental groups.
Join the Social chamber
“Our work is committed to socially beneficial forest management. We are non-profit.”
FSC members include workers unions and different indigenous organizations supporting native populations and communities. Others examples are training/education institutions or non-governmental development agencies.
Join the Economic chamber
“Our professional interests are directed towards commercial interests and commercial forest product organizations.”
Many trade associations, timber processors and forest consultancies have discovered FSC membership as an important tool for their daily work. Also several Do-it-Yourself chains belong to the FSC economic chamber.
In some cases the membership committee may approve you for a different chamber from the one you requested, if it believes this to better reflect your activities.Category: Membership application -
There are no FSC members in my country. How do I get letters of support?
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If there are no FSC members in your country, other reputable sources can issue letters of support - for example an FSC-accredited certification body, or a recognized non-governmental organization (NGO) supporting FSC.
Category: Membership application -
What do Southern/Northern sub-chambers indicate?
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Each chamber has two sub-chambers: Southern and Northern. We will place you in the Southern sub-chamber if your organization is legally registered in a non high-income country and the Northern sub-chamber if your organization is legally registered in a high-income country.
As an individual member, you join the sub-chamber of the country in which you hold citizenship. We follow the World Bank definition in our classification of southern and northern countries.Category: Membership application, Governance -
How long does the membership approval process take?
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The Membership committee of the FSC Board of Directors approves all membership applications.
We submit membership applications to the committee once a month. Once submitted the approval process takes take a minimum of four weeks.
You can help to avoid delays by making sure to include all requested material from the start.
Category: Membership application -
Must I renew my membership annually?
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No. We automatically renew your membership each year.
If you wish to end your FSC membership, please send us a written and signed notice that you wish to end your membership with FSC at least two months before the end of the year. Please use the following contact:
FSC International Center GmbH
Membership Officer
Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5
53113 Bonn
Deutschland/ Germany
Fax to +49 228 367 66 65Category: Membership application -
I have joined FSC. Why can’t I find my name on the membership list?
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We list all members of FSC international (FSC A.C.) in the membership list. If you do not find your name on this list please remember that:
• This list is limited to members of international (FSC A.C.), and does not include members of the FSC National Initiatives.
• We list individual members under the country of citizenship.
• For organizational members we only list the name of the organization/company, not the name of the representative.
If you have considered the above and still cannot find your listing, please contact us at membership@fsc.orgCategory: Membership application
