I want to start this post with a plug for a good friend and fellow CoC blogger, Erin Light, Senior Manager for Sustainability at Unisource Worldwide.  Unisource is at one of the world's leading paper distribution companies and Erin is their in-house expert in green certification. In a recent post to the UnisourceUnplugged blog, Erin calls attention to one of the least-appreciated strengths of the Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) program.  Unlike either its chief competitor, FSC, or its...

While I was, like most Americans, taking some time away from work last week to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, the FSC Board of Directors held its 64th meeting in Nicaragua and appear to have taken some action on the ILO Self-Declaration issue.  A quick search tells me that I have been writing about this subject for over a year.  You can see my first entry, and good overall introduction to the issue HERE, and the rest of  the long and protracted history HERE. Today's "fix" looks pretty...

In my post earlier this week, I shared some journal articles from the UK printing industry on the subject of the new FSC Online Claims Platform (OCP).  They were of interest to me because they echoed much of the quiet grumbling that I have been hearing from FSC participants throughout North America.  This morning, I learned of some much more focused and specific feedback to FSC on this subject - provided in this case from two paper industry trade groups, the Confederation of Paper Industries...

Just the other day, I wrote here about a lack of practical information about the impending implementation of FSC's major database initiative, the Online Claims Platform (OCP).   While FSC had certainly put a lot of very sincere energy and effort into communications, it was largely rather general and promotional in nature.  I felt it time to see some practical details. Clearly the FSC staff were thinking the same thing, because just this morning an information package was circulated through the...

The FSC program first began recognizing recycled content in Chain of Custody (CoC) claim systems in 2004.  The  standard FSC-STD-40-007 was introduced to define the protocols and recycled inputs shortly became an important part of the supply chain for FSC-certified paper products.  One key attribute of the 40-007 standard is the distinction between Pre- and Post-consumer recycled categories.  Both are allowed, but only the Post-consumer content can be "counted" towards certified content....

FSC is quietly continuing its work on the Online Claims Platform (OCP): an enormous and potentially very significant overhaul of its Chain of Custody program.  While they have certainly made a sincere attempt at outreach and communication, most stakeholders - including the companies who will be most affected - remain largely in the dark about the details. I recommend that anyone with any involvement in the FSC marketplace take a few minutes to look over the descriptive materials found at this...