NEPCon expands in Western Europe … As of 1st of July 2009, NEPCon is taking over the management of the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood forestry program in all of Europe as well as Russia, Israel and …

Controlled Wood - new advice … A new advice note released by FSC seeks to strengthen the foundations of FSC Controlled Wood. …

Early impact of Lacey Act … The landmark US Lacey Act, adopted last year in its current form, has already shown that it is capable of transforming the approach of companies to make sure of the legality of traded wood …

Danish bindery FSC-certified … With an FSC chain of custody certificate in place, the bindery D. …

Russian PEFC scheme endorsed … On the 5th of March, PEFC announced its endorsement of the forest certification scheme "Russian National Forest Certification System" (PEFC-FCR).  …

Illegal forestry in Brazil revealed … According to the International Tropical Timber Organization, ITTO, a multi-million illegal logging operation has been detected in the Brazilian state of …

PEFC new stakeholder forum … Based on its recently concluded Governance Review, PEFC is establishing a new Stakeholder Forum for international forest …

PEFC review of core docs … PEFC is engaging in a review of two of its core documents: PEFC's forest management criteria (Annex 3: Basis for Certification Schemes and their Implementation) and PEFC's standard setting procedures (Annex 2: Rules for Standard …

RA study shows benefits … A study recently published by the Rainforest Alliance documents several on-the-ground benefits of FSC forest management …

Ojon palm nut oil … The Ojon ® Corporation, a Canadian beauty care company within the Estée Lauder Companies, has teamed up with the Rainforest Alliance in order to ensure that the company's use of rare palm nut oil from Honduran rainforests is …

Precious woods FSC certified … Some companies ensure a steady supply of certified wood by producing the wood themselves. …

Green building and fuel wood … The important role of forests as provider of ecosystem services, including mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, is highlighted in two recent press releases from the The Timber Committee of the United Nations Economic …

FSC General Assembly 2008 … By Peter Feilberg, Director of NEPCon The fifth FSC General Assembly is over. …

Chamber update 6 Nov 2008 … The last meetings in the 3 chambers took place during Wednesday afternoon. …

FSC leaders at Forest Conference … Contribution by FSC International FSC welcomed delegates to the first day of the Forest Conference with opening remarks from FSC Board of Directors Chairman Roberto …

Business value of the FSC brand … A market survey presented at the Forest Conference shows that almost 75% of the respondents find that FSC certification brings business value to the company. Less that 6% find that it bring them no business …

NEPCon is now an FSC certifier … NEPCon is now an independent FSC certification body. This implies that NEPCon will no longer be providing FSC services on behalf of the Rainforest Alliance. However, the close collaboration between NEPCon and the …

Is Chain of Custody certification a “myth”? … Doubts over timber industry Chain of Custody (CoC) certification have been raised with growing intensity over the past year. We look at the reasons why the former FSC General Director André de Freitas recently …

FSC at risk – PEFC at peace? … Over the past year, Greenpeace has stepped up its public scrutiny of the FSC system. This might lead some industries, particularly in Europe, to see PEFC as the safer choice in terms of avoiding the NGO spotlight. However, …

Pioneering eco-labels in Bolivia … CIMAL/IMR – a Santa Cruz, Bolivia based company known for its high-end FSC certified outdoor furniture - launches FSC certified Chiquitano Charcoal in Bolivian …