The FSC (Forest stewardship Council) is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. “Being FSC certified shows that your business complies with the highest social and environmental standards on the market. As public concerns about the state of the world’s forests and timber resources increases, FSC provides you with a credible solution to complex environmental and social issues.
An FSC certificate label is an effective way to get public and consumer recognition of your responsible practices. This gives you credibility with customers and business partners as well as financial institutions and watchdog organizations. FSC certification helps to protect your brand and reputation and it allows you to access highly environmentally sensitive markets. Increasingly, governments and others specify FSC certified products in their procurement programs.
FSC Forest Management certification is the certification of the forest or plantation area. FSC has also developed special programs for small operations. FSC Chain of Custody certification tracks the FSC certified material through the production processes all the way to the store. FSC products can contain parts or proportions which are not fully FSC certified. The need to allow inclusion of non-certified material has arisen because there is not yet enough FSC raw material available and certain products are not yet developed in FSC quality. FSC Controlled Wood controls the non-certified material in FSC products to avoid timber from the most destructive and harmful practices, such as illegal logging or human rights abuses.”
(extract from FSC’s website, follow this link to read more)