Forestry Tasmania have a Controlled Wood certificate for their plantation estate. What does that mean you ask? FSC Australia have an update for stakeholders.
FSC Australia supports forest managers in their pursuit of certification, and in this case are encouraged that Forestry Tasmania has been accredited to the Controlled Wood standard for their plantation estate by the independent auditor, SCS Global Services.
Forestry Tasmania has improved their forestry management practices by attaining the FSC entry level standard, Controlled Wood, on their plantation estate. What is the difference between Fully FSC Certified Wood and Controlled Wood? take a look at this link for an earlier news post for more clarification.
Whilst, FSC Controlled Wood is not the same as FSC Forest Management Certification it does have a roll within the FSC system. In short, FSC Controlled Wood can contribute to MIX label products but no FSC promotional claims are allowed from Forestry Tasmania.
Despite being the entry level standard, Controlled Wood certification still has an impact on the way this production forest will be managed in the future, over and above any government regulatory scheme, legal requirements or other certification schemes, highlighting FSC’s member driven standards remained the most rigorous in the industry.
Further, under the FSC Australia High Conservation Values Evaluation Framework, designed to assist in interpreting the FSC Controlled Wood standard, Forestry Tasmania must identify and conserve High Conservation Values.
Forestry Tasmania’s plantation estate is managed to produce fibre for paper manufacture and also to supply high-quality, high-value, pruned logs for the production of knot-free solid timber and veneer products. Forestry Tasmania grows two main eucalyptus species, Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian blue gum) and Eucalyptus nitens (shining gum).
FSC Australia encourages Forestry Tasmania and other Forest Managers to continue their pursuit of certification and appreciate their commitment and support of FSC’s mission to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests.
For any media enquiries please see here.
FSC Australia has prepared the following FAQs for interested stakeholders:
What is Controlled Wood?
Controlled Wood is material that can be mixed with the certified material during manufacturing FSC mix products. Controlled wood has enabled manufacturers to manage low and fluctuating supplies of FSC certified forest products while creating demand for FSC certified wood.
Click here to learn more about the difference between Controlled Wood and Full FSC Certified Wood.
Can the Forestry Tasmania now label wood sourced from this area with the FSC logo?
No. Timber sourced from the Forestry Tasmania are not fully FSC certified, and therefore Forestry Tasmania cannot label their wood with the FSC logo or make any promotional or marketing claims about meeting the Controlled Wood standard.
No claims of ‘FSC Controlled Wood’ are allowed for promotional purposes, and no labelling is allowed for products sold as ‘FSC Controlled Wood’.
Only FSC certified processors and manufacturers could mix ‘FSC Controlled Wood’ into their products with fully FSC certified or recycled sources. Only under these conditions can the final product be labelled as ‘FSC Mixed’.
Who assessed the Forestry Tasmania against the Controlled Wood standard?
FSC certification assessments and preliminary assessments are carried out by internationally
accredited auditors monitored by Accreditation Services International.
FSC Australia is not involved in decisions about who receives FSC certification or which auditor is chosen to assess forest managers.
The independent auditor that assessed Forestry Tasmania against Controlled Wood, in this instance it was SCS Global Services.
What was the process?
Independent forest management auditor, SCS Global Services, has conducted a lengthy audit process of the Government-owned Forestry Tasmania management practices across their entire native and plantation forest estate.
At this stage, following an extensive assessment and consultation process, SCS Global Services has found Forestry Tasmania has met the requirements of the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) Controlled Wood standard on their plantation estate.
Does FSC certification require the Forest Manager to be profitable?
For the Controlled Wood Standard, no the standard does not require profitability and it does not measure if a forest manager has ongoing resources. This is one of the differences between the full FSC assurances and Controlled Wood.
For the Full Forest Management Standard, FSC certification requires sustainable resources for ongoing operations.
This is because in many instances, the forests are used to support communities with subsistence living. This applies to many small holders, local and indigenous communities. Therefore, under the full FSC certification only resources to implement a plan are required to ensure economically sustainable forest activities.
Stakeholder general inquiries can be directed to info@au.fsc.org