I have seen several examples of large US companies deciding to accept Major Non-conformance findings rather than sign the required FSC self-declaration on the subject of compliance to the ILO Core Conventions.  This effectively puts them on notice that their certificates will be subject to suspension as of March 31, 2013. The assumption, of course, is that some sort of policy compromise will be worked out prior to that date.  What will it look like?  I don't know.  It could be a simple as the...

Today I read an interview of the new staff director at FSC-IC.  It appears on the WWF Global site and, as you might expect, isn't particularly hard-hitting.  I found it interesting, nonetheless. Kim Carstensen is a Dane who appears to have a strong background in the environmental policy field, including (not surprisingly) a senior position with WWF.  He is - interestingly - a sociologist, and remarks in his interview on the need to improve the FSC-IC's outreach and engagement of the social...

I got a 'head's up' from a colleague in the Lake States. FSC-IC has a draft Advice Note in the review process that deals with rules that forest landowners have to follow when they grow seedlings in nurseries.  This isn't new, of course, it's been talked about for some time.   Here in the US, where forest landowners don't typically grow their own seedlings, but buy then from outside suppliers I've never considered it a big deal. My colleague's note made me read the advice note again more...

I've been hearing rumors for months that FSC was pouring lots of time and attention into it's online database for tracking certificates and certification.  When asked about it, I've been rather dismissive.  From the start the program has been well-intentioned, but rather naive and really hasn't amounted to much.  Reasonably good for looking up and verifying certificates (required by the program) but not much else. Just last week, however, some new updates have been released which suggest that...

Here's a link to the latest FSC-IC Technical Update on the subject. This is VERY disappointing and seems to confirm that the FSC Controlled Wood process will remain dysfunctional for the foreseeable future.  I have corresponded with FSC-US staff who are closely involved in this process and the delays seem to be mostly caused by a determination to maintain consensus agreements with "key environmental stakeholders".

Another update from FSC-IC this morning:  this one concerning implementation of the global Risk Assessments.  I will be trying to discover FSC-US's position and status on this.  Hopefully we won't be waiting another 2 years for this positive development.