If you are either a forest owner or manager, or a business that produces or trades forest products, it becomes even more important to show that you operate in an environmentally, economically and socially responsible way.
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification guarantees your customers that the FSC-labelled product they buy has come from a forest and supply chain that is managed responsibly.
To achieve FSC certification, a company must adhere to 10 rules that cover the essentials of responsible forest management. These rules apply worldwide, across all ecosystems and cultural, political, and legal systems, with specific guidance provided for local interpretation.
Here are the 10 rules as quoted from the official FSC certification website
PRINCIPLE 1:
The Organisation shall comply with all applicable laws, regulations and nationally-ratified international treaties, conventions and agreements.
PRINCIPLE 2:
The Organisation shall maintain or enhance the social and economic wellbeing of workers.
PRINCIPLE 3:
The Organisation shall identify and uphold Indigenous Peoples’ legal and customary rights of ownership, use and management of land, territories and resources affected by management activities.
PRINCIPLE 4:
The Organisation shall contribute to maintaining or enhancing the social and economic wellbeing of local communities.
PRINCIPLE 5:
The Organisation shall efficiently manage the range of multiple products and services of the Management Unit to maintain or enhance long term economic viability and the range of environmental and social benefits.
PRINCIPLE 6:
The Organisation shall maintain, conserve and/or restore ecosystem services and environmental values of the Management Unit, and shall avoid, repair or mitigate negative environmental impacts.
PRINCIPLE 7:
The Organisation shall have a management plan consistent with its policies and objectives and proportionate to scale, intensity and risks of its management activities. The management plan shall be implemented and kept up to date based on monitoring information in order to promote adaptive management. The associated planning and procedural documentation shall be sufficient to guide staff, inform affected stakeholders and interested stakeholders and to justify management decisions.
PRINCIPLE 8:
The Organization shall demonstrate that, progress towards achieving the management objectives, the impacts of management activities and the condition of the Management Unit, are monitored and evaluated proportionate to the scale, intensity and risk of management activities, in order to implement adaptive management.
PRINCIPLE 9:
The Organization shall maintain and/or enhance the High Conservation Values in the Management Unit through applying the precautionary approach.
PRINCIPLE 10:
Management activities conducted by or for The Organization for the Management Unit shall be selected and implemented consistent with The Organization’s economic, environmental and social policies and objectives and in compliance with the Principles and Criteria collectively.
