FSC International held the Third Conversion Dialogue, which took place online on 03 march 2021 at 10:00 (CET), with an identical second session at 16:00 (CET).
The following topics were covered:
An overview of the planned timelines for discussions and decisions in the different processes relevant for the Policy on Conversion. We will look at what is expected in the lead-up to the FSC General Assembly, what will be available for discussion and decision at the GA itself, and what will happen after;
The process of alignment between FSC’s work on conversion and the Policy for Association with a particular focus on how we ensure that remedy is considered in a consistent way across the different work streams.
FSC’s General Assembly is a triannual event which brings together several thousand leaders and decision makers from indigenous peoples, environmentalists, businesses, and many others to discuss challenges and solutions for FSC and responsible forest management.
For those that have never attended a General Assembly or are not familiar with how FSC governance works, this webinar provided an introduction to FSC membership, how our governance works, and an overview of the General Assembly, motions and voting.
The webinar took place via Zoom. Simultaneous translation to English, Spanish, and French was available.
FSC Members propose motions to prioritize issues or ideas that are important for the development of FSC. A motion is a proposal to change or create an FSC Policy or Statute through member discussion, debate and voting. Submitting a motion is one of the most important actions an FSC member can take. Statutory motions are proposals to amend the FSC Statutes or Principles & Criteria while Policy motions are proposals for amendments to FSC policies or operational procedures.
The shift towards a more results-driven certification approach will be explored, ensuring that conformity with FSC translates into measurable positive impacts on forests and communities.
Date: Wednesday, 9 July 2025
Morning Session: From 09:00 to 10:30 CET, in English only. Register here
Afternoon Session: From 16:00 to 17:30 CET, in English with simultaneous translation to Spanish and French. Register here
The meeting took place via Zoom, in two identical sessions to accommodate several time zones and enable the participation of our membership from all regions.
You can find the recordings of these meetings here:
The first three dialogues held on 21, 22 and 23 July 2020 served as an opportunity for members to bring the proposed Global Strategy 2021-2026 to life and discuss ideas to further advance FSC’s mission.
In this section you will find the latest materials and gathered insights from the FSC Global Strategy Dialogues. This includes discussion reports, recordings of the sessions, summaries and more. This information will allow you to stay up to date in case you were not able to attend all sessions or if you would like to get more information regarding the main topics being discussed.
FSC is updating the Lists of FSC Highly Hazardous Pesticides based on the existing criteria, indicators, thresholds and sources through an accelerated revision process as described in FSC-PRO-01-001 The Development and Revision of FSC Requirements.
In June 2022, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Assurance Services International (ASI) launched the third transaction verification (TV) loop on bamboo supply chains to proactively find out if there are any integrity risks that need to be addressed.
FSC is extending a call for applications until 14 April 2020. We are still seeking candidates for a technical working group to develop a risk-based approaches (RBA) assurance system for forest management certification. They will also finalize the revision of the RBA procedure and guideline.
We are seeking FSC chamber members and technical experts with knowledge and experience in forest management and controlled wood for the working group tasked with revising the FSC Controlled Wood Standard for Forest Management Enterprises. The call for applications will be open from 17 December 2019 to 17 January 2020.
FSC digital audit reports for forest management are now ready for auditors around the globe to start training on the use of them. Use of the system will become mandatory for all forest management audits conducted from January 2021 onwards.
The first draft of the standard FSC-STD-60-004a FSC International Generic Indicators for the use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides is now available for public consultation until 01 April 2020 and can be accessed here. We invite all stakeholders to provide feedback.
In light of possible concerns pertaining to the COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on international travel, we are sharing several important updates related to upcoming FSC events.
In 2020, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) commissioned SmartCert, an independent assessor, to assess allegations made by Mighty Earth against the activities of Olam Palm Gabon – a joint venture of Olam Group and the government of Gabon.
The objective of this document is to specify the requirements for FSC-accredited certification bodies for developing Interim National Standard (INS) or Interim Regional Standard (IRS), depending on the geographic scope of the standard, for the certification of responsible forest management and the responsible management of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) at the Management Unit (MU) level. These standards shall be based on the International Generic Indicators (IGI) and shall address the regional, national or sub-national conditions in which they are to be used and shall consider input from local stakeholders. The FSC Board of Directors at FSC International, acting through the Policy Steering Group (PSG) shall approve Interim National Standards (INS) before they can be used for FSC certification purposes. In March 2020 the revised procedure was published to reflect the FSC Board of Directors’ decision during their 82nd meeting to delegate the approval of INS to the Policy Steering Group.