What are your plans for FSC Friday? … On 28 September, the annual celebration to raise awareness of the aims and impact of FSC certification will take place in a number of countries around the world, spearheaded by the FSC National Offices and supported …

Turning FSC thinking on its head … FSC’s success among larger forest operations is commendable, yet small forest owners who collectively manage substantial areas of forestland remain largely …

FSC “fundamental law” revised and approved … The FSC membership has approved the revised Principles and Criteria – the backbone for all national and regional FSC forest management standards across the globe – with unprecedented support by social …

FSC aligns with the EU Timber Regulation … Minor non-certified components will need to be completely phased out of the FSC system within a year's time. FSC has found this to be a necessary move in order to ensure recognition of FSC certified products as …

FSC Controlled Wood standard to be amended … A new draft version of the standard for Company Evaluation of FSC Controlled Wood is open for public consultation until 30 November. It includes several new requirements, which have been added in order to …

Survey underpins market strength of FSC … Why do companies choose to become FSC-certified? An FSC market survey report published by FSC shows that customer demands are a key driving force: as many as 83% of chain of custody certificate holders were driven …

FSC off-product trademark rules … FSC-certified companies should be aware that the new set of rules for the promotional use of the FSC trademarks, TMK is mandatory as of 1 January …

FSC General Assembly 2011 - the overview … Learn what changes are in store in the FSC system and can catch up on key decisions by reading this summary of the FSC General Assembly held on 27 June -1 …

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

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, …

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 …

Regional Outlook: change of tack in Africa … Africa, home to the world’s second largest tropical forest – 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 …

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 …

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 …

Jaime Levy: A voice for Indigenous Peoples … Long-time supporter of FSC and a fierce advocate for community forestry operations, he understands the challenges for small and medium sized enterprises to access certification and make this a financially …

Kingfisher: Traceability top agenda for retailers … Traceability is perhaps the single most important issue within retail today, explains Kingfisher. As forest resources are depleted, timber supply resilience becomes a pressing issue. Knowing where the …

Underwater forests – FSC's next frontier? … Close to 300 million trees are currently standing underwater, yet this vast resource remains largely untouched and ignored by the global timber market. Canadian-based Triton Logging has pioneered the field of …

Jameson French: “Some said I was a communist” … Jameson French relays what it was like to be one of the early proponents of FSC among the US industry. Today, many of his earlier critics are certified …

McDonald's gives preference to FSC for packaging … Sandwish wraps, fry boxes, takeout bags and trayliners. …

Australian timber act under way … The Australian government has released an "Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill 2011" for public consultation. The proposed Act bans illegal timber products from entering the Australian market and importers of illegal wood …