Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification

20 Years Later

Alan Thorne RPF, P.Eng

Chief Forester – Ontario

CIF Teachers Tour

August, 2015

Objectives

• A little history on certification

– Why did this happen– What did it look like in the beginning

• What is the current status after 20 years?

• Predictions on where it will be in the next 20 years

A little History…

Those that choose to ignore history, are doomed to repeat it… (anon)

• 25 years ago, a lot of people did not trust industry or governments on claims of sustainable forest management

– Lots of emotional debates in British Columbia– Temagami issue in Ontario– Spraying– Clearcutting…

War in the Woods

Valley by Valley

Jobs vs the environment

Rio Conference 1992: The Earth Summit

• Concept of Sustainable Development really took root• Led to the birth of FSC certification with the inaugural

meetings held in Toronto– First set of 10 Principles developed that attempted to

address the 3 pillars of sustainability• Socially responsible• Environmentally appropriate• Economically viable

• Regional standards were not yet developed

Meanwhile...

• Forestry debates have evolved from valley by valley battles:

– Targets had shifted to major companies head offices– Evolved further into targeting the customers of

forestry companies– Major Customers now demanding proof their

products are sustainable

FSC today: 20 years later

• There are approximately 180 million ha certified world wide

• Canada has ~ 1/4 of all FSC certified area.• The original standard has recently been updated and

voted through by the membership• The National standard(s) are in the process in Canada of

being merged into 1 standard (from the current 4)• Globally, a new set of generic indicators have been

developed to more “standardize the standard”

                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                 

                              

                                                   

BY ADRIA VASIL

Should we boycott Joe Fresh?

Spreading to Other Industries?

                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                 

                              

                                                   

BREAKING NEWS: Ken leaving Barbie

Certification: the next 20 Years

• I believe this will continue to grow

– People are thinking more about sustainability – especially younger generation

– Growing belief that resources are finite so people will want to know how their decisions affect environmental and social matters

– We need to ensure new policies are realistic and achievable (IFL’s, controlled wood, interpretation of FPIC)

– I believe it will continue to spread to other industries

Other industries as well?

For example

• Fair Trade Coffee

• Certified fair trade cotton clothing (Marks and Spencer)

• Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement

• Maggie’s organic fair labour socks…

• International Seafood Sustainability Foundation

• Why not certified oil?

Other industries as well?

Other industries as well?

Concluding Thoughts

• I hope people will in the future buy fewer things but will be willing to pay a fair price for goods and services to promote sustainability

• I hope the spirit of cooperation between advocates of each pillar of sustainability continues to grow to ensure balance and this becomes the norm and not the exception

• I hope policies evolve realistically.

• I wish we could return to a sense of pride of Canadian producers who have embraced sustainability like no others in the world

Questions?