FSC – Forest Stewardship Council

Posted on April 30, 2014 Updated on May 9, 2014

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a worldwide, non-governmental, non-profit organisation established in 1993 to promote responsible management of world’s forests. Its mission is to ensure a lawful, profitable and reasonable management, “environmentally sound, socially beneficial and economically prosperous”.

FSC assesses whether those in charge for forest management are complying with law, international protocols, and if they are enhancing, while still respecting, the life of surrounding communities. As such, FSC works in conjunction with professionals from a wide range of industries who use wood as a raw material, mainly forest owners, members of timber and printing industries and publishers.

In order to ensure a better and more responsible management of our forests, the organisation implemented a system of certifications:

1. Forest Management
2. Controlled Wood
3. Chain of Custody

1. The Forest Management certification “is awarded to forest managers or owners whose management practices meet the requirements of the FSC Principles and Criteria”;

2. The Controlled Wood certification allows manufacturers to mix FSC certified material with uncertified materials (for example, illegally harvested wood or wood harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights), always under controlled and previously accepted conditions;

3. Finally, the Chain of Custody Certification (FCS CoC) is applied to manufacturers, processors and traders of FSC certified forest products. This certificate is used to certify any product made according to the FSC standards.

The FSC CoC allows companies to label and track the timber or other wood products derived from FSC certified forests, and monitor them through the whole process of production, from forests to consumers. In the market, FSC certified products are identified with a seal, which we may find today in a variety of wood-made products, including books. In books, the seal is usually printed on back covers or copyright pages, and it is widely taken as a trustworthy symbol.

Publishers are increasingly committed to FSC standards. Most publishing houses are now using FSC or other type of certified paper. For example, Penguin has printed all its b&w books on FSC certified paper since 2008, and HarperCollins, in 2013, set a goal that 70% of the books printed by Harper UK would be FSC certified.

As consumers, with an FSC certified book, we get the chance to support an ecological cause and to trace back the origins of our books. At least, to find out from which type of wood they were made of. Pick a book, type an FSC code and check, here.

Image credit: Capella