FSC helps take care of forests and the people and wildlife who call them home.

FSC works to address the most pressing issues facing the world’s forests – from forests loss to the rights of indigenous peoples, communities and workers, to the need for greater conservation to protect biodiversity, ecosystems and wildlife habitat, and climate change effects - ensuring Forests For All Forever.

The work of FSC help mitigate and adapt to climate change effects by ensuring sustainable forests around the world.  Ending the loss and degradation of forest systems and promoting sustainable management and restoration programmes are key to achieving positive climate action.

We are at a defining moment for the world’s forests. Without healthy and resilient forests, biodiversity will continue to be lost at an alarming rate and we will lose the fight against climate change. We know this, but forest fire events are happening more often around the world, and the conversion and degradation of forests continue, releasing large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

While this situation may appear overwhelming, we know that forest stewardship, including sound efforts towards protection, conservation, and restoration as well as active management of forest products and services, can help. 

For more than 25 years, FSC has pioneered responsible forest solutions that protect forests’ natural lifecycles.

FSC regards climate change as a very serious threat to humanity. Climate change undermines the natural ecosystems on which we rely for our basic needs – food, water, health, and shelter – and many of the products that support our livelihoods and economies. Today, climate change is damaging ecosystems at an unprecedented rate, but these same ecosystems are also our strongest allies in mitigating future climate change.

With its certification scheme for forest management, its chain of custody control standard, and its outreach to consumers with its labels, FSC contributes to mitigating climate change by promoting sustainable forest management, preventing deforestation and degradation, as well as promoting the recycling of wood and other forest-based materials. Our global framework for forest management standards gives special attention to protecting the function of forests as net removers of CO2 from the atmosphere. FSC has also started developing new tools for rewarding the preservation of valuable ecosystem services, including carbon storage, in responsibly managed forests.

Forests that measure carbon storage using our Ecosystem Services procedure realize a 14 per cent average increase in carbon stocks over a management cycle by implementing forest management practices such as increased rotation length and preservation of dead wood.

New research from FSC and GlobeScan – a global insights and advisory consultancy, reveals that consumers want to make sustainability-focused purchasing decisions and trusted third party certification labels play an increasingly important role in it.

According to the research, consumers are increasingly concerned about sustainability issues strongly associated with forests. In fact, the primary concern of consumers among forest issues is the impact of deforestation on climate and biodiversity. The survey found that 86 per cent of consumers try to avoid products that damage biodiversity and almost seven in ten of global consumers want to choose products that do not contribute to climate change.

Small-scale and community forests are at the heart of FSC. The specific challenges that these groups face are not only linked to the requirements of FSC certification, but also to access markets that value sustainability. To rise to these challenges, we are continuously working on increasing our impact and making the FSC more attractive to these stakeholders.

In September 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This is intended to be a “plan of action for people, planet and prosperity” and “seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom” (UN, 2015).

At the core of this agenda are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These 17 Goals, with their 169 targets, cover the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social, and environmental – with a strong focus on quality of life, justice, and equality, as well as the sustainable consumption, production, and use of natural resources.