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FSC International Center GmbH (IC)

FSC IC

The Forest Stewardship Council promotes environmentally appropriate and socially beneficial management of the world's forests.

Lobbying Activity

FSC urges EU to integrate forest certification into Taxonomy

5 Dec 2025
Topic — The initiative reviews environmental technical screening criteria to update and simplify existing rules.
Message — FSC recommends integrating sustainable forest management certification and third-party verified impact into the criteria. They also advocate for including stepwise and group certification approaches to support compliance. Additionally, the organization calls for embedding social safeguards like Free, Prior, Informed Consent.123
Why — This policy would increase demand for FSC services while reducing operator compliance costs.45
Impact — Uncertified operators and those using less rigorous audit systems would face higher costs.6
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FSC urges EU to treat forest materials as conditional renewables

5 Nov 2025
Topic — New EU legislation aimed at enhancing economic security and sustainability through a circular economy.
Message — The CEA should recognize forest-based materials as renewable only under sustainable conditions and incentivize the cascading use of wood. It must prioritize reuse and remanufacturing to extend product lifespans. The Act should employ existing third-party schemes for verifying circular flows to avoid duplicative frameworks.123
Why — Using existing schemes would reduce costs and reinforce FSC's position as a global standard.4
Impact — Manufacturers of unsustainable wood products would face increased costs through new taxes and regulations.56
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FSC demands EU ban nature credit offsetting

30 Sept 2025
Topic — European Commission consultation on a roadmap to mobilize private investment in nature.
Message — The organization insists that nature credits should only fund actions beyond legal requirements rather than offsetting pollution. They advocate for simplified methodologies for small landholders and the use of existing certification systems.123
Why — Adopting existing standards would solidify FSC’s market position and influence in Europe.4
Impact — Major polluters lose the ability to use nature credits for regulatory compliance.5
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Meeting with Taru Haapaniemi (Cabinet of Commissioner Christophe Hansen)

30 Sept 2025 · The role of credible voluntary sustainability standards in supporting compliance and advancing EU sustainability objectives / EUDR / clarification on the “labelling regime.”

FSC urges EU to leverage forest certification for bioeconomy

22 Jun 2025
Topic — The European Commission is revising its strategy for a circular and sustainable bioeconomy.
Message — The FSC proposes integrating sustainable forest management and responsible sourcing into the new bioeconomy strategy. They recommend that the EU use established certification schemes and prioritize the cascading use of wood to ensure resource efficiency.1234
Why — Using existing certification would lower compliance costs and give responsible companies a market advantage.567
Impact — Failing to include sustainability criteria would harm forest ecosystems and reduce biodiversity.89
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Meeting with Merja Kyllönen (Member of the European Parliament)

22 Oct 2024 · ajankohtaiset asiat Eurooppa politiikassa

Meeting with Thomas Waitz (Member of the European Parliament)

6 Dec 2022 · Forest

Response to Sustainable Products Initiative

21 Jun 2022

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the pioneer of forest certification with nearly +50 million hectares of certified forests in Europe, supports the EU Commission objective of improving the overall sustainability and circularity aspects of products. In the attached document we have elaborated five recommendations, backed by evidence, aiming at further strengthening the proposal: 1. Including “responsible sourcing” as a new eco-design requirement in article 5.1 2. Employing type I and type I like ecolabels in articles 14 and 15 to demonstrate compliance with selected eco-design requirements 3. Further specifying criteria for employing type I and type I like ecolabels – in line with the empowering consumers towards the green transition proposal – and including them in article 34(3) 4. Employing type I and type I like ecolabels to feed the digital product passport 5. Including responsible sourcing as one of the mandatory Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria as per article 58
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FSC urges inclusion of certification data in forest monitoring

26 Apr 2022
Topic — The initiative aims to establish an EU-wide system for monitoring forest conditions and management.
Message — FSC requests a standardized geospatial dataset for all EU forests. They suggest the framework track whether forests are certified and which scheme is used.12
Why — Including these details would give FSC certification more visibility and official recognition in EU data.3
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Response to Revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001

17 Nov 2021

FSC supports the EU Commission goal of ensuring that the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) contributes to the achievement of the highest climate and biodiversity protection ambition. For this, FSC would like to share the following three recommendations: 1. Reinforcing the REDII sustainability criteria for bioenergy in light with the EU Green Deal climate ambition. 2. Prioritizing the “cascading use of wood” principle. 3. Moving from the risk-based approach to the precautionary approach. The recommendations are further explained in the attached document.
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Meeting with Diana Montero Melis (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen) and Stichting Fair Trade Advocacy Office and

17 Sept 2021 · the forthcoming proposal on deforestation-free regulation

Meeting with Anthony Agotha (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and Stichting Fair Trade Advocacy Office and

21 May 2021 · The value of certification in due diligence systems’

Meeting with Eglantine Cujo (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius) and European Round Table for Industry and

21 May 2021 · The value of certification in due diligence systems

FSC urges EU to use forest certification for taxonomy

17 Dec 2020
Topic — The consultation defines environmentally sustainable economic activities for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Message — Sustainable forest management should be the core principle of the forest taxonomy. They advocate for using robust certification schemes as proxies for regulatory compliance. They also recommend assessing substantial mitigation at the level of forest holdings.123
Why — This would promote the use of FSC certification for demonstrating sustainability.4
Impact — Schemes without multi-stakeholder platforms or third-party auditing would be excluded.5
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Response to EU Forest Strategy

4 Dec 2020

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) promotes the responsible management of the world’s forests. We strive to support the Commission in developing a new EU forest strategy ensuring environmental, social, and economic value to forests. In Europe, almost two third of forests are certified. This should be considered to address forests in a consistent manner. The EU Parliament, in its resolution of 8 October 2020 on the EU Forest Strategy “encourages the use of forest certification systems in place, as suitable means of proof to verify the sustainability of forest resources” . Building on this, FSC calls the EU Commission to recognise the complementary role of forest certification schemes meeting robust credibility principles, such as FSC, as a ready-made tools to support implementation of the new EU Forest Strategy objectives on the ground. FSC can support the EU Commission’s goals as it follows: 1. Driving the demand for responsible forest management 2. Enhancing forest protection – and strictly protect old-growth forests 3. Enabling the conditions for forest resiliency 4. Supporting restoration of degraded forest ecosystems 5. Promoting the import of products not involving deforestation 6. Ensuring consistency with international commitments and EU Green Deal goals Arguments, together with evidences, are further explained in the attached document.
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Response to Sustainable Products Initiative

16 Nov 2020

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the pioneer of forest certification with nearly 50 million of forest hectares certified in Europe, strives to support the EU Commission in making products more sustainable. In this framework, FSC recommends the following: 1. Design for renewables: incentivising renewables materials to decarbonize the economy. 2. Design for sustainability: including responsible sourcing among the sustainability principles. 3. Co-design for sustainability: Recognising third-party certifications driving sustainable objectives as proxy for compliance with EU sustainability principles. The three points are further explained in the attached document.
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Response to Revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001

21 Sept 2020

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the pioneer of forest certification with 25 years of experience in sustainable forest management and is widely regarded as the world’s most trusted forest certification system. FSC uses its expertise to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests, bringing together experts from the environmental, economic and social spheres. FSC welcomes the EU Roadmap and strives to support the EU Commission in meeting its climate objectives by contributing to decarbonisation while guaranteeing that bioenergy products from forest biomass comes from sustainably managed forests. Hence, FSC calls the EU Commission to amend Article 29 RED II on the EU sustainability criteria, and in particular to: 1. Replace the risk-based approach with the precautionary approach Article 29 RED II follows a risk-based approach which undermines EU climate policy objectives. In fact, pursuant to article 29 biomass users need to assess risks at country-of-origin level (assessment at sourcing area level). Only if the users have assessed that there are substantial risks of unsustainable forest management practices further mitigation measures are needed (assessment at forest holding level). This approach does not guarantee sustainable management of the specific use of forest for feedstock or which feedstocks are used for energy, which ultimately lead to risks associated with biodiversity, carbon stock change and indirect land use change. FSC, instead, calls the EU to adopt a precautionary approach whereby assessment is carried out at forest holding level and mitigation measures are required at that level. This approach would also ensure overall consistency given that it has been already adopted in other EU policies and legislations, such as the EUTR and relevant EU Ecolabel decisions. 2. Replacing land criteria with SFM criteria For forest biomass, the land criteria should be replaced by strong SFM criteria, such as those developed by FSC, to ensure that biomass feedstocks are sourced from forests that are sustainably/responsibly managed. This means that all forest biomass consignments would comply with the EU minimum sustainability criteria for forest biomass. This is best demonstrated by means of robust forest certification or other equivalent evidence collected and verified at the forest holding level. Furthermore, using solid SFM criteria sets the highest sustainability standards for the use of forest feedstocks with respect to sustainability risks associated with biodiversity, carbon stock change and indirect land use change. Moreover, this approach will have two clear benefits: • Making sure that forest biomass for energy come from sustainable managed forests, thus embedding economic, social and environmental consideration in line with the EU Green Deal goals. In fact, sustainable managed forests rules are effective practices to fight deforestation and biodiversity loss whilst providing economic and societal benefits for indigenous population. • Assessment done through certification at forest holding level ensures that carbon stocks and sink levels in the forests are at best conserved. For further info and evidences, please see attached PDF.
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Response to Empowering the consumer for the green transition

1 Sept 2020

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) welcomes the EU Roadmap and strives to support the EU Commission in enabling consumers to play an active role in the ‘green transition’. FSC is committed to give consumers reliable information on sustainable products across the EU, thus FSC calls the EU Commission to: 1. Endorsing and using ISEAL Codes of Good Practice as a voluntary reference for robust and trustworthy labels meeting strict sustainability standards. 2. Endorsing credible sustainability standards whilst fighting labels and logos contributing to misleading or unfounded information on products’ environmental characteristics on a case by case basis. 3. Recognising trustworthy labels and logos giving reliable info to consumers and that are driving the EU Green Deal Climate objectives Our recommendations are further specified in the attached document.
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FSC urges EU to recognize its certification for taxonomy compliance

17 Apr 2020
Topic — This consultation defines which economic activities qualify as environmentally sustainable for investment purposes.
Message — FSC wants the EU to recognize its certification as a green investment proxy. The scheme provides a transparent way to verify compliance with climate mitigation criteria.12
Why — This would increase market demand for FSC-certified forest products and operations.3
Impact — Competing schemes or uncertified managers may lose access to green capital.4
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Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

2 Apr 2020 · EU Green Deal and EU forest policies

Response to Illegal logging – evaluation of EU rules (fitness check)

27 Feb 2020

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a global NGO promoting sustainable forest management through its certification scheme, welcomes the EU Roadmap and wish to highlight the following points: 1) FLEGT & FSC – legality and sustainability are better together FSC is committed to fight illegal harvesting together with the EU. Legality is the first of ten principles upon which the whole FSC system is based - and it is the foundation from which sustainable forest management can build on. Yet, legality and sustainability are not identical. FLEGT certificates demonstrate legality of the resources; certification schemes, such as FSC, demonstrates additional socio-environmental standards in forest management that can complement and add further value to legal requirements. While FLEGT system and certificates provide strong evidence of legality, the FSC scheme provides the best assurance of sustainable forest management and traceability in forest supply chain. Hence, the two tools are complementary and support each other goals. FSC calls on the EU Commission to recognize FSC as an enabling tool for achieving legal/sustainable assurance within the FLEGT framework. At a global level, this has already been done by the Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Act. More here: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/forestry/australias-forests/certification 2) Recognition of FSC certification as an enabling tool for EUTR EUTR implementation can be improved. On this matter, FSC calls for the following developments: - The contribution of FSC certification to be formally recognized in the due diligence systems that importers and domestic foresters have to apply. FSC has already supported capacity building (guidance, training, etc.) of first placers and competent authorities where requested on its tools that support due diligence. FSC is keen to strengthen cooperation with the EU Commission and Member States on this matter. FSC certification does not aim to substitute law - but rather enabling its implementation and providing a solid foundation for sustainability. - Urgent need to harmonize assessment and enforcement of due diligence by competent authorities, by improving the understanding of FSC system and its ability to enable more effective due diligence within EUTR. 3) VPAs and FSC are mutually supportive FSC strongly supports VPAs because they provide a sound platform to develop laws enforcement mechanisms and governance of forest trade. FLEGT VPA processes can be complemented by the market-oriented interests that FSC mobilizes, as well as the experience FSC has in promoting and facilitating multi-stakeholder processes. FSC is relevant in VPA countries. In four countries (CAR, Cameroon, Liberia and Rep. Congo) with ratified VPAs, FSC certified forest area adds up to almost 5.5 million hectares. In these countries the VPAs include the possibility of private voluntary certification schemes to be used as an enabler of the Timber Legality Assurance System. In Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, which have considerable timber trade with the EU, FSC has national standards which include the FLEGT legality grid. EU recognition of FSC will reduce costs for both foresters and enforcement agencies. A logical next step would also be to recognize the domestic FSC CoC system withing the TLAS because it ensures that FSC-certified materials leaving the country originate from FSC-certified forests. FSC can also play an important role in reversing the negative perception of tropical timber in the EU, as it is recognized by many buyers for its reliability and positive ecological and social sustainability impacts. FSC can contribute to consensus on what is legally required, as well as assist in efforts to enforce legality. For more info see here: https://marketingtoolkit.fsc.org/campaign/about-campaign FSC is committed and ready to support EU Commission actions within the EU FLEGT Action Plan.
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Response to Climate Law

6 Feb 2020

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global NGO promoting environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. FSC welcomes the EU Commission’s roadmap and wish to highlight the following points: 1. The new EU Climate Law should state in the preamble and/or articles the negative effects that climate change is having on the environment, society and economy. The preamble and/or article(s) should also remark the pivotal role that forests and forest products play in mitigating climate change, building climate resilience, restoring ecosystems and protecting biodiversity. For further evidence, please click here: https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3227 2. The Climate Law should include provisions promoting the use of materials with the lowest carbon impact, such as sustainably-sourced renewables. In fact, replacing finite and fossil-based materials with responsibly managed renewable materials, such as FSC certified wood products, can decrease greenhouse gas emissions whilst reducing dependency on finite resources. Moreover, this effect can be further magnified when renewable materials are subsequently reused or recycled. This aspect would also enable the EU Climate Law to act in synergy with the proposed EU Circular Economy Action Package – and thus facilitate the achievement of the 2050 climate-neutrality objective. Further evidence here: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/galleries/ce100/CE100-Renewables_Co.Project_Report.pdf 3. The EU Climate Law should include an article specifying that robust and independent certification schemes taking into account environmental and social aspects can be used as a voluntary benchmark to demonstrate sustainable sourcing from forest to end consumer. While the schemes are run privately, the European Commission can recognize them as valid enablers – as per option already adopted in the Renewable Energy Directive II. See here: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/biofuels/voluntary-schemes FSC certification, in particular, ensures that forest-based products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits. This means that the organisation managing the forest shall, among other obligations, avoid, repair or mitigate negative environmental impacts. FSC certification thus enables businesses, civil society, consumers and institutions to make decisions confident that the raw material in an FSC certified product can be traced back to an (FSC certified) responsibly managed forest. The strict and transparent criteria around which the FSC system is built, makes it one of the most trusted Sustainable Management Solution. See for more info the FSC’s 10 Principles of Forest Stewardship, developed through a multi-stakeholder approach that includes the widest range of Economic, Environmental and Social stakeholders: https://www.fsc-uk.org/en-uk/about-fsc/what-is-fsc/fsc-principles
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Response to EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy

20 Jan 2020

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global NGO which promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable forest management solutions, notably forest management and supply chain certification. Crucial for sustainable forest management is the conservation of natural forest biodiversity. Conserving biodiversity is paramount for forests given their habitat and cultural value, the ecosystem functions, as well as economic opportunities. FSC standards can complement and enable national legislation by providing clear and/or quantifiable benefits for forest management practices promoting higher biodiversity in the following areas: 1) Protected areas and habitats 2) Native tree species 3) Mixed forests 4) Retention trees 5) Dead wood 6) Forest drainage. According to recent studies (see attachment), the major benefits that FSC certification provides to forest biodiversity are the following: - Conservation requirements complementing Member States’ legislation (e.g. Estonia, Sweden, Finland). These requirements include preserving high conservation value forests, retaining both living biodiversity trees and dead wood, maintaining noble hardwoods, prohibiting or limiting the cultivation of non-native tree species, and avoiding the drainage of previously undrained forests. - FSC management requirements promote a higher degree of ‘mixed forests’ withing the forest management unit. - Quantifiable requirements, for instance requiring more living trees to be retained per hectare that is harvested. For example, in Estonia at least 10 living biodiversity trees should be retained, which is up to three times the amount of retained trees as required by law. - Most countries in Europe have biodiversity requirements in the legislation. However, the State authorities often have limited tools to enforce national requirements. With annual audits, FSC certification represents a strong independent tool for enforcing national laws. Moreover, when evaluating the level of biodiversity consideration in the FSC standard, it is also important to remember that FSC certification strives for a balance between environmental, social and economic values. Given the above, we recommend the EU Commission including and/or endorsing/supporting robust forest certification schemes – such as FSC - in the upcoming EU Biodiversity Strategy as scientific-proven solutions to protect and enhance forest biodiversity.
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Response to A new Circular Economy Action Plan

20 Jan 2020

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global NGO promoting environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. FSC’s leadership team welcomes the EU Commission’s roadmap on circular economy and agrees that further actions are needed to mitigate the negative environmental consequences of linear economy – particularly the ones affecting climate and biodiversity. We believe three points can further accelerate the transition towards a thriving circular economy: 1.Responsible sourcing The responsible sourcing of materials should be the foundation of an effective circular economy. If the first material input into the circular economy is not responsibly sourced, it would be difficult for the (circular) economy to serve its climate and environmental goals. One easy way for the EU to foster responsible sourcing could be recognising/supporting tools – such as responsible sourcing certification schemes that are based on robustly developed and assured standards. FSC certification ensures that forest-based products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits. This means that the organisation managing the forest shall, among other obligations, avoid, repair or mitigate negative environmental impacts. FSC certification enables businesses, civil society, consumers and institutions to make ethical decisions confident that the raw material in an FSC certified product can be traced back to a responsibly managed forest. 2. Using renewable materials The roadmap mentions that “opportunities for closing the loop for biological materials will be considered”. According to scientific evidence using renewable materials, such as wood and wood fiber, is a crucial step to achieve circularity and lower emissions. The use of renewable materials can be particularly interesting for replacing inputs that are hard to make emissions-free. It can offer opportunities to bind carbon in products and act as carbon sinks. When using renewable materials, such as wood, it is critical to ensure that they are sourced from sustainably managed forests, as illegal logging permanently destroys vast natural carbon sinks and their associated biodiversity, which cannot be easily restored. Furthermore, using non-sustainably harvested wood products is more environmentally detrimental than the benefits of using low-carbon materials in buildings. See attachment. 3. Nudging consumers towards recycling via voluntary environmental labels On this matter, the roadmap does mention “measures to empower consumers to contribute to the circular economy”. To do so, an easy achievable step for the EU could be recognising/acknowledging/endorsing/promoting existing labels offering highly selective standards for transparency whilst embedding social and environmental considerations. For instance, the FSC Recycled label recognises the important role that recycling paper and timber plays in taking pressure off the world’s forests. Unlike general ‘recycled’ claims, which require no verification, the FSC Recycled label provides assurance that the wood or paper in a product has been verified as genuinely recycled. In fact, FSC Recycled label is verified by a third party certification body as being made from at least 70% post-consumer reclaimed materials, i.e. wood and or wood fibre that has been reclaimed from a product after that product has been used for its intended purpose by individuals or businesses. It is important to notice that recycling paper and wood products not only makes the best use of the yield of the tree, it also reduces the amount of waste going to landfill sites. The use of FSC Recycled paper and timber can help to alleviate the pressure of demand on sources of virgin material, thereby helping to conserve to conserve world’s forests. More here: hhttps://www.fsc.org/en/page/fsc-labels
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Response to Stepping up EU Action against Deforestation and Forest Degradation

15 Jan 2019

I respond on behalf of FSC, the Forest Stewardship Council. FSC welcomes the decision of the Commission to develop an action plan focussing on both forest degradation and deforestation, which together, in particular in the tropics, are important sources of biodiversity loss and climate change. Recognising that many things need to be done at the same time, FSC herewith calls for two actions that can contribute to reduce both forest degradation and deforestation. They are both based on the idea that non-deforestation and sustainable forest management should, besides the obvious environmental benefits, also produce social and economic benefits for the peoples directly involved. Only then one can envisage local support and local involvement, leading to permanent improvements. One action is to put pressure on the EU importing companies to work with credible certification schemes that include in their standards robust environmental and social requirements and have effective verification tools. This pressure can start with public procurement requirements and communication tools such as Ecolabels, but it should be investigated whether this can go beyond that and make the use of such schemes, whose impact can be verified by the European Commission, obligatory. The other action is to facilitate the use of such schemes in the producing countries by introducing fiscal incentives, at the producer level and/or in the supply chain. For example the level of harvesting, concession or exports fees could be made dependent on whether certification or equivalent evidence of sustainable management is provided. This system could also be used to vary VAT-levels, also in the importing countries. In this way an economic level-playing field could be created for production that is certified or has proven its sustainable nature in different ways. While most of this has to be decided and applied by the producing countries, the EU could promote this in partnerships with governments of producer countries and, where the financing cannot be entirely arranged with increasing taxes for unsustainable practices, assist financially as well.
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