Social issues in the FSC supply chain: real change in sight? … For the first time, FSC’s Chain of Custody standard covers social issues such as the ILO core conventions and occupational health and …

Germany low risk for Controlled Wood … The risk of sourcing timber from unacceptable sources is low, if you buy from German forests. …

Certified, but not for the money … FSC is normally seen as a market-driven tool to support responsible forest management, creating incentives in terms of market access or price premiums; however, for some forest owners there are quite different benefits …

Positive outlook for certified sales in Eastern Europe … The largest printing house in Central Europe, QuadWinkowski, sees clear business benefits of its dual FSC and PEFC certification. Demands for certified products are growing across all of the …

FSC renames certified products … FSC has released a revised version of its product classification standard that is used to define companies’ product groups as well as to feed into the FSC database …

Lego adopts forest-friendly packaging … The world's largest construction toy maker, LEGO, yesterday announced a new policy for responsible sourcing of packaging material. Through a mixture of reduced packaging volumes, increased use of recycled material, …

… Vice President of Forestry at the Rainforest Alliance, FSC members don’t see certification as the silver bullet, … they also don’t see anything else as a silver bullet. And FSC isn't just a talk shop. Thoughts at the close of the 6th FSC General Assembly. …

Plantations - the step-child of FSC … Forestry expert Berty van Hensbergen takes a nuanced stance on FSC’s requirements for plantations including the infamous criterion on post-1994 conversion. Does the current rule lead to social …

… in the sustainable forestry debate, while the concept of FSC was still bubbling in its primordial soup. Twenty years … in sustainable forest management, and a firm supporter of FSC. Meet Tim Synnott, the first FSC Executive Director. …

Controlled Wood: sealing gaps and crevices … The much debated issue of Controlled Wood moved a step forward, when members voted for essential repairs and spare parts for the ailing Controlled Wood system; will these 'quick fixes' be enough to satisfy …

… – the Congo Basin – is a largely untouched potential for FSC. Participatory approaches and alignment with the EU FLEGT scheme may be part of the recipe for FSC's expansion in Africa. …

Transparency: thumbs up, thumbs down … Transparency and stakeholder dialogue were in focus this year: on Friday, the members passed one motion and rejected another that aimed for enhanced transparency and stakeholder …

Plantations revisited … FSC's approach to plantations was on Friday's agenda at the FSC General Assembly. Members agreed that FSC needs more clarity on this point. Meanwhile, stakeholders outside of FSC voiced their opinions on this highly emotional topic …

Forestry issues: interim standards and large operations … Members decided to move ahead with efforts to solve a long-standing issue on the consistent interpretation of the global Principles & Criteria at country level, when national standards are absent. …

Tropical treasury: lesser known species … “All wood is valuable if it exists in abundance”, states Robert Simeone, President of Sylvania Forestry and founding member of FSC. We caught him in the midst of the busy goings-on of the FSC General Assembly to …

Assembling the future … Over 400 people – one of the largest gatherings in FSC’s history – came together in the Ballroom of the Sutera Harbor Hotel in Kota Kinabalu to set the future directions for FSC, by voting on the motions that had made it through …

No show and no go in 2011 … Social issues in the supply chain; adaptation to climate change; and small forest holdings: these are all topics that were either low on members’ radar or outright voted down …

Voting on FSC’s future – Part I … Yesterday was the first voting day at the 2011 FSC General Assembly. We present some of the key decisions made by FSC members, asking for changes that are set to change the directions of FSC or strengthen its core …

Controlled Wood motion in motion: members vote today … Heated discussions on Controlled Wood have resulted in an amalgamation of three Controlled Wood motions into a “Controlled Wood package” to be voted on …

A newcomer’s perspective … A virgin to the extraordinary dynamism of the FSC General Assembly, in this extended online interview Josh Tosteson shares his thoughts from his “first time” in Kota Kinabalu. He takes a thought-provoking angle and challenges …