What you can do as a forest manager

Many forest managers around the world have chosen to get third party verification to show that their forests are managed to the highest social and environmental standards.

In a context where the global timber trade increasingly requires quality assurances, certification has become an ally to forestry, able to increase industry image and to provide marketing benefits.

Certification not only provides a competitive advantage for maintaining and accessing new markets, it also provides a benchmark for best practice.

Why certify?

Certification adds value to forestry over and above its timber value

The range of services provided by the forest sector is often not adequately recognised by society - certification can support forestry to gain wider political recognition and support from society.

Credible certification pays off
The demand for FSC wood continues to grow. Indeed, increasing demand enables owners of FSC certified operations to sell wood that was previously difficult to market.

Improved market access, better customer relations, higher profits
FSC Certification helps market the economic, societal and environmental services of the forest industry.

More and more leading wood-processing industries buy timber from suppliers who are FSC certified. Passing, for example, the FSC label down the whole chain of trade strengthens communication between market partners and promotes the relationship between customers and suppliers.

Certification as ally to improve the image of the forest industry
Certification also provides an opportunity for the timber industry to improve its image - to showcase the good work of foresters. Meanwhile forest owners can actively use e.g. the FSC label to attract new customers , by showing that their forests have been managed in an environmentally sound and socially responsible way.

Lower operating costs and improved management
FSC certification provides a formal framework for benchmarking standards and optimising practice leading to efficiency gains. Many FSC certified forest operations have considerably reduced costs and increased profits through e.g. natural regeneration instead of planting. In addition, the certifiers' suggestions for optimising management help to improve efficiency.

Certification helps solve and avoid long standing conflicts
The timber industry in many parts of the world faces potential and long-standing conflicts with local communities as well as environmental and social organisations.

FSC Certification encourages different groups to share perspectives and work together towards a common agenda - these being the sustainable and fair use of profitable forest resources while preserving the environment. FSC brings together all stakeholders and seeks common ground between groups with diverse interests in the forest resource.

Global acceptance
The FSC was developed as a world-wide certification system to address the requirements of a global market, but also to create a system that provides an incentive to improve forest management in critical forest regions.

The FSC is at present the only certification system enjoying global recognition. End of 2003 a round 40 million hectares of forest in 57 countries have been certified according to FSC standards.