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.
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.
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:
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.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is seeking candidates for a chamber-balanced subgroup that will be part of the Working Group revising the requirements for the development and maintenance of FSC Country Requirements: Forest Stewardship Standards (FSS) and FSC Risk Assessments (procedures FSC-PRO-60-006 and FSC-PRO-60-006a).
… (FSS) for Ukraine has been updated (FSC-STD-UKR-01.1-2024) to include criteria for excising contaminated areas as … The Policy Steering Group approved the updated FSS in June 2024. “Including these requirements to remove certain areas … The updated standard becomes effective on 23 September 2024 . For any queries on the standard, please contact FSC …
FSC invites you to an informational webinar held on FSC-PRO-01-004 FSC Remedy Framework, which governs remedy for association with FSC under FSC-POL-01-004 V3 Policy for Association.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Assurance Services International (ASI) are launching a transaction verification (TV) loop on supply chains of all types of wood in Vietnam. The TV loop will include forest management (FM) certificate holders in the scope, in addition to specific types of chain of custody (COC) certificate holders.
Since 1996, FSC’s General Assembly (GA) has been the place where members come together to steer the system’s evolution. Each gathering reflects its time: the challenges on the ground, the debates across chambers, and the decisions that have shaped how FSC grows.
FSC is pleased to announce the official release of the new FSC Interim Forest Stewardship Standard (IFSS) for Zambia. This standard applies to all categories of management units and includes provisions for Small or Low Intensity Managed Forests (SLIMFs) as well as the certification of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs).
… 2023, and entered into force on October 1, 2023. In May 2024, the FSC opened a public consultation (from May 10 to June 26, 2024) to address concerns identified during the …
… six certification bodies. Positive Mid-Term Results In 2024, FSC conducted a mid-term progress evaluation. The … of AP RFSS audits more than doubling each year. By mid-2024, nearly 57,000 hectares of plantations were certified …
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.
Completed NRA for Chile.This document is an assessment of the risk of sourcing material from unacceptable sources in a given country, developed according to FSC-PRO-60-002 V3-0 EN The Development and Approval of FSC National Risk Assessments.This risk assessment shall be used when implementing FSC-STD-40-005 V3-1 EN Requirements for Sourcing FSC Controlled Wood.Please Note: Certificate holders have until 04 September 2020 to adapt their due diligence system to include the changes brought about by FSC-NRA-CL V1-0. The CNRA will remain available for download until that date. ++ Click here to submit a change request for this FSC risk assessment ++