Policy for the association with FSC
Background
Should a company be allowed to market their FSC certified timber and enjoy the benefits of using FSC’s good name and trademark to promote their activities and products, while some part of their operations continue to violate the very fundamentals FSC stands for?
Recognizing that some companies may need time to change their forestry practices on all sites, the question remains how to prevent “greenwashing”. This issue is also known in FSC as “partial certification”.
FSC has always taken these issues very seriously and has attempted to resolve them through different policies related to forest management certification. In March 2007, FSC IC was mandated to follow a new and broader approach: the development of criteria for the association of any third party with FSC, accompanied with an informed review of companies who appear to be misusing the system.
The intent is to protect the credibility and integrity of the FSC system as a whole and create a mechanism to protect the investment that FSC represents in time, money, effort and goodwill made by certificate holders and stakeholders around the world.
Objectives
The objective of this policy is to ensure consistency and transparency in decision-making on the association of a given third party with FSC's good name and trademarks. The policy is designed to ensure that it does not create an impediment to participation by companies engaged in credible efforts to improve their practices.
Document under public consultation
FSC strongly encourages all interested parties to provide their input on the Final Draft of the Policy for the association with FSC (FSC-POL-20-002 V3-0 D2-2). Comments received in this consultation will support the FSC Board of Directors in its decision-making process on the policy.
The document was developed by the FSC Policy and Standards Committee, taking into account the feedback received on the second draft of the policy.
Policy for the association with FSC (FSC-POL-20-002 V3-0 D2-2) (pdf)
Completed comments on FSC-POL-20-002 V3-0 D2-1 (pdf)
The following aspects are incorporated:
- Retains a balanced threshold system that includes preventive and corrective approaches
- Includes some elements related to fundamental rights of workers, as mandated by a motion approved by the 2008 FSC General Assembly
- Refinement on the component related to conversion, which on the previous draft could be interpreted as more restrictive than even the FSC Principles and Criteria
- Includes additional definitions to improve the clarity on the different elements of the policy
To submit your comments, please email the FSC Policy and Standards Unit by 1 July 2009.
Contact
Andre de Freitas, Executive Director
