school energy&environment

Certification according to FSC

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international non-governmental, not for profit organization. It was established in 1993 to promote responsible management of world’s forests and plantations. ‘Responsible management’ means: safeguarding natural environment, delivering real benefits to populations, local communities, and workers, ensuring economic efficiency.
FSC members are: environmental and social groups (Greenpeace, WWF, Legambiente, Amnesty International, etc.), native communities, forest owners, industries processing and commercializing timber, companies in large-scale distribution, researchers and specialists, certification bodies, citizens and anybody sharing the goals of the organisation.
FSC has adopted a practical tool to accomplish its mission: a voluntary and third-party (independent) certification system specific for forestry and forest products, which operates at an international level. It’s divided among between Forest Management certification and Chain of Custody certification. Good forest management certification is based on 10 Principles & 57 Criteria (P&C) which FSC has studied involving all interested parties. These P&C hold international value and must be adjusted on a local scale. Both individual and group (which means for more than one owner) certifications are available and faster and simpler certification procedures are provided for small forest areas. Chain of custody certification (COC), instead, is based on norms related to product traceability and laws over the use of international registered trademarks. A traceability certification implies the identification of all steps from the forest of origin where logs are extracted to the finished product. Possession of a valid chain of custody certificate is necessary to mark products with the FSC logo.