FSC and PEFC jointly call for rejection of proposal for ISO Chain of Custody Standard for certified forest productsFSC and PEFC, the two organisations together accounting for some 98% of the world’s certified forests and chain of custody certificates, called upon members of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to not support a proposal for an ISO standard to be developed for certified forest products as it stands.
ISO members have until the end of August to vote on such a proposal. In a joint statement to the ISO members, FSC and PEFC express their “sustained opposition” to the proposal.
For more information, and to read the FSC and PEFC joint statement, please click here
FSC Welcomes Greenpeace Case Studies
As a member-led organization, the Forest Stewardship Council derives its strength and integrity from active engagement by a very diverse set of stakeholders. FSC’s members, organized into economic, social and environmental chambers, are expected to present their interests to FSC to ensure that FSC works to continually improve the certification system.
Greenpeace as an active member of FSC have published a number of FSC case studies to highlight what Greenpeace sees and acknowledges as FSC’s best practices and also to highlight areas where Greenpeace thinks FSC needs to improve.
To read more about FSC reaction to the Greenpeace case study and the issues FSC is already working on please click here.
New PSC Committee appointed by the FSC International Board of Directors
FSC is pleased to announce the new representatives on the Policy and Standards Committee (PSC). The Policy and Standards Committee is one of the most important committees appointed periodically by the FSC International Board of Directors. It provides invaluable information to the Board on virtually every policy and standards creation, revision, and interpretation, and also on other issues.
The call for candidates was sent out on April 19th this year, and the response was very encouraging.
A total of 25 FSC members applied for appointment to the committee, distributed across sub-chambers. The Board considered all candidates and sought a balance across geographies, experience in the FSC system, and gender in selecting the five members to be appointed at this time.
To see The full composition of the new PSC please click here.
*** ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FSC & APRIL ENDING ***
On 23 May 2013, Greenpeace, WWF Indonesia and the Rainforest Action Network filed a formal complaint with the Forest Stewardship Council about association with the APRIL Group. In accordance with the FSC International Dispute Resolution System, FSC set in motion the process of dealing with the complaint.
However, on 14 June 2013, the FSC International received from our Asia-Pacific and China offices written requests by APRIL subsidiaries to withdraw their FSC certificates, which were all for chain-of-custody.
No reason for the withdrawal was offered.
For more information, please click here.