
The Policy and Standards Committee acts on behalf of the Board of Directors (BoD) with respect to technical matters related to the development or revision of FSC Policies, Standards, Procedures and other FSC normative documents.
The FSC general assembly brings together hundreds of leaders and decision-makers from Indigenous Peoples, environmentalists, businesses, and others from FSC’s membership to discuss a responsible future for the world’s forests, and the people and animals who inhabit them. Delegates also include certification bodies, certificate holders, union representatives, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and observers.
Our membership fees vary according to the location of the individual or organizational member in either the global North or the global South. For organizations, membership fees also vary according to the type and size of the organization.
Theme: Standards & audit systems
Motions discussed: 10, 13, 14, 16, 30, 31, 37, 42, 45, 54, 55, 58, 60.
In this meeting, members discussed the following motions:
*Please note that these motions were modified at the close of the deadline for amending motions (August 31, 2021).
You can watch the recordings of the main plenary session here:
We have a selection of materials and multimedia resources related to your FSC membership in preparation for the GA 2022. Please contact your Membership Regional Coordinator for more information.
This webinar presented the board’s work to implement Motion 63 from 2017, including the efforts to develop a revised Network Policy and Procedure. In the webinar, members got an update on the process for this work, including the upcoming public consultation. The webinar was also relevant for the current motions related to Network Development.
Watch the recording here: English | Spanish (will be available soon)
FSC members vote for the FSC Board of Directors who are accountable to the members. The Board of Directors have the responsibility of monitoring the work of FSC, particularly that the motions passed at the General Assembly are being put forward.
This motion is now the result of a consolidation exercise by the motions proposers/seconders, merging former Motions 37, 38, 39/ 2021.
Motion 37/2021 if passed at the GA, is the motion that will provide the mechanism to update FSC’s highest level framework (P&C’s) and position on conversion (past, present and future) and enable the updated and aligned normative framework in the FSC system, as requested by Motion 07/2017.
The aligned package of normative documents was released for consultation last Friday, 11th March, and more details are available here. We invite you to look at the explanatory documentation in this consultation package.
Also note that Policy Motion 45/2021 - Stop the current process on revision of the FSC Policy on Conversion is connected to this motion and we were able to hear from the proposers of this motion.
We have reached a significant milestone in the relationship between the FSC system and the topic of conversion. We thank those members that joined us in this important dialogue and support FSC to establish new expectations and requirements for conversion- past, present and future- through remedy and restoration, as well as a new cut-off date for excluding material from the FSC system if it originates from converted natural forests or High Conservation Value areas.
We hosted two identical sessions to accommodate different time zones.
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:
FSC has published a public consultation of the Interim Forest Stewardship Standard (IFSS) of Ethiopia. We welcome any interested stakeholders to provide their feedback through the documents available on FSC’s Consultation Platform available here.
In 2016, we established the New Approaches project, designed to develop additional ways for us to support smallholders and communities on their journey to FSC certification. Today, the project is built on 25 years of work culminating into a formalized program within FSC to continue developing innovative approaches towards social policy and smallholders and communities.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) conducts a Global Client Survey every two years to understand the main benefits and perceived importance of belonging to the FSC system.
FSC has issued an interpretation for the Chain of Custody Certification of Multiple Sites standard (FSC-STD-40-003 V2-1).
Barbara Bramble has been appointed as the Chairperson of the International Board of Directors of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Barbara’s term of office runs from 1 January to 31 December 2020.
FSC encourage all stakeholders to comment on the first draft of FSC Conversion Remedy Procedure (FSC-PRO-01-007 V1-0 D1-0). The deadline to participate is 30 June 2020.
The second draft of the FSC Policy on Conversion (FSC-POL-01-007 V1-0 D2-0) is now available for a public consultation until 16 February 2020 and can be accessed here.
FSC is seeking candidates for a technical working group to develop a new international procedure on the continuous improvement concept. The call for applications is open from 17 December 2019 to 17 January 2020.
We are inviting you to complete a questionnaire to collect feedback and to assess your experiences of the FSC General Assembly 2017.
FSC is seeking candidates for the role of ‘FSC Regional Membership Coordinators’ to support us in the preparation process for the upcoming General Assembly; this includes keeping members informed, supporting/facilitating the motions development and discussion process and galvanizing cross-chamber dialogue.