Patricia attended the Fiona Wain Oration and 30 year anniversary celebrations of the Business Council for Sustainable Development. An Acknowledgement of Country was given by Susan Moylan-Coombs, an important speech from Dr John Hewson who called on the business community to develop an emission reduction program and find opportunities to enhance biodiversity. This was followed by a vote of thanks from BCSD Australia Director, Virginia Ford-Zink and the announcement of new benchmarks for membership from CEO, Andrew Petersen.
The adoption of a set of science-based membership criteria that aligns Australian businesses with the transition to net-zero emissions is of significant interest to FSC as is their commitment to environmental goals that contribute to nature/biodiversity recovery by 2050. Ensuring we work closely with the BCSDA will be an important opportunity for FSC in the years to come, particularly in relation to the new ecosystem services procedure.
Patricia caught up with Belinda Fairbrother at Taronga Park Zoo to discuss opportunities to partner through their educational programs and their use of the FSC trademarks. An exciting new development is occurring at the zoo, which will feature an Australian forest exhibition focussed on the wildlife that call them home. This presents FSC with a wonderful opportunity to highlight the importance of choosing FSC and the responsible management of the world’s forests. The Taronga Park Zoo have innovative programs on climate change that highlight the potential for consumers to make a difference to the world’s forests and oceans by choosing responsible sourced products.
An important meeting was held with Woolworths at their headquarters in Bella Vista. This marked the start of an exciting training initiative for Woolworths/Big W to enable them to achieve Australia’s first self-approval process for their trademark program. A collaborative process was employed to develop a training process that would meet the needs of Woolworths staff and FSC requirements so that the team become confident in delivering the self-approval process. This initiative will lead the way for other Promotional License Holders to take up this opportunity.
The Living Future Institute of Australia is an important partner for FSC as their Living Building Challenge™ is the built environment’s most rigorous performance standard that only recognises FSC certified timber. A joint discussion with its CEO, Laura Hamilton Hara identified a number of initiatives including hosting a round-table discussion with FSC stakeholders to identify key issues of supply and demand in the construction sector and the potential for FSC to contribute to their upcoming Symposium in October.
The Trademark team plans to continue visits with the aim of exploring opportunities to streamline processes and ensure Promotional License Holders are making the most of their trademark program.
Please reach out to the Trademarks and Partnerships Manager, Patricia Fitzsimons if you would like to discuss any of the issues raised above through: p.fitzsimons@au.fsc.org.