Friends of the Earth Backs away from Forest Stewardship Council

I think Friends of the Earth have a point and am glad they are raising this as a concern.

The FSC scheme is important but does appear to be more a badge that some companies wear rather than take the aims and objectives seriously.

I had to smile today when a printer that I deal with posted me a letter confirming that his firm had just completed it's FSC accreditation. He went into great detail about what this meant and how sustainable his businesses vision was. All I could think was why have you mailed me about 6 sheets of paper when an email would have sufficed!

Moving forwards these type of accreditations are going to be basic requirements for companies in some sectors such as print. Therefore keeping the main objectives and the original focus of the scheme alive is an imperative.

Well done FOTE

John Vaux
Have a healthy week
Discover The Advantages Of Honey

This is terrible news. When I teach sustainable design, I trash all the other systems like green globes and SFI as being greenwashing (they are) yet they are making their way into the market as an alternative to FSC that lets the lumber companies clear cut.

FSC is the only reputable standard, and if they get tainted we have nowhere to turn.

To paraphrase Churchill, FSC is the worst form of certification, except for all the others.

Wow. How upsetting if FotE's claims are true.

It seems there need to be other third-party certifiers... sort of like how you can't always trust USDA organic, but you can be a little more confident if something is Oregon Tilth or Quality Assurance International certified organic.

I really hope this gets straightened out. If you can't trust an independent like FSC, who can you trust?

Can someone please tell me if there is any way to curb deforestation?

This is very disturbing. FSC is the standard for the wood credit in LEED rating systems. It is internationally recognized as the accepted standard, and now they can't be trusted.

how else can we create consistent methods to know that we are doing the right thing?

I can certainly understand why FOE’s comments have caused so much concern. Please know that the Rainforest Alliance continues to strongly support responsible forest management under the globally recognized standards of the Forest Stewardship Council. We pioneered forest certification many years ago and have worked hard on certifications ranging from indigenous groups in Brazil, Mexico, Canada or the USA, to the very challenging large companies that manage plantations and natural forests. NGO support for the FSC system and the work of Rainforest Alliance is crucial for obtaining and maintaining credibility within the sustainable forestry community.

FSC standards are developed through a public consultation process with all stakeholders, including environmental groups and forestry companies and are considered the benchmark of socially and environmentally responsible forestry. We are constantly holding productive discussions with environmental NGOs, businesses and other key players to enhance the positive impacts of forest certification. The Rainforest Alliance is active in regular outreach to a number of NGOs, which includes holding an open conference call every few months where we invite questions on any of our FSC certifications.

FSC-certified tropical forests support biodiversity, prevent soil loss and erosion and provide much-needed income for local people living on the economic margins. Currently the FSC retains the endorsements of a number of key global and national NGOs such as American Lands Alliance, Dogwood Alliance, ForestEthics, Greenpeace, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Council, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund (or World Wide Fund for Nature) and many others. There’s always room for improvement, but let’s not toss out what overall is a truly successful system that has literally revolutionized the way wood is harvested worldwide – let’s work together to make it better.

-Abby Ray, Rainforest Alliance