Forest Matters Apr 2015 (public edition) by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) UK

Forest Matters FSC UK Newsletter April 2015

Contents 2

News in Brief

3 WWF India’s Paper Campaign 4 Danzer Group’s reassociation 5

The Interview, with Rosie Teasdale

EcoBuild 2015 Report

Project Certification Film

Forest news from Nova Scotia

Director’s Overview

News in Brief

Dear Reader, I am delighted to introduce this issue of Forest Matters, the first since I took over the reins as FSC UK’s Executive Director. I am excited to be taking on this challenge at such an interesting time. Not only is FSC developing a new global plan, but FSC UK is also redefining priorities and objectives for the coming three years (see page 5). A key priority under both plans is likely to be that of improving communications with existing or potential certificate holders, retailers, NGOs, Government and the consumer. This magazine is one of the means by which we can inform stakeholders of developments in the world of FSC and, we hope, inspire you. We encourage you to provide feedback on the content and we welcome guest articles. Another proposed priority focuses on how FSC works as one global organisation, improving our efficiency and effectiveness. This month’s “Postcard from...” is from India and we hope that this regular feature, along with international case studies, will provide an insight into the work of our colleagues across the globe. We also need to ensure that FSC’s standards are appropriate and credible, from the forest to the retailer. With the forthcoming revisions of the UK Woodland Assurance Standard, the Chain of Custody Standard and the Trademark Standard for Certificate Holders, 2015 looks like being a busy year for FSC UK!

Photography competition winner announced Congratulations to Marion Sidebottom, who won the public vote of our 2014 photography competition with her beautiful black and white image of a hornbeam, which forms the cover of this issue of Forest Matters.

Farewell Charles After eight years as the Executive Director of FSC UK, Charles Thwaites is leaving us, to be replaced by Rosie Teasdale (see interview on page 4-5). We wish Charles all the best with whatever he has planned next.

Marion wins expert photography tuition with environmental photographer Edward Parker, and a family ticket to Go Ape!

His leaving present was a beautiful FSC certified bench, with the logo on of course!

EcoBuild

Chain of Custody Consultation

At the beginning of March we spent three busy days at the EcoBuild trade fair in London. Out of the hundreds of exhibitors there were a good many who dealt in wood and wood products, and it was excellent to see many certified companies there as well. For a full write-up see page 7.

FSC has been running a consultation on the Chain of Custody standard since December, and the consultation closed at the end of February. Thank you to everyone who got involved and submitted responses, and for those who took part in the webinars. Updates on the Chain of Custody standard revision process will be posted on our website www.fsc-uk.org.

I look forward to working with you in my new role and keeping you abreast of FSC news. Yours sincerely, Rosie Teasdale

Save the date! FSC Friday, the international celebration of responsible forestry, will be on 25th September 2015

Chelsea Flower Show From the 18th to the 23rd May FSC UK will be at the Chelsea Flower Show with our own display. This is the perfect opportunity to take the FSC’s message to people in the world of gardening, and with such a huge range of wooden products available for the garden, it’s the perfect audience. We’re having a joint display with WWF UK, and several FSC certificate holders have kindly donated products to feature.

Sainsbury’s Donation Once again Sainbury’s ran a Christmas Card recycling scheme and invited customers to bring in their used cards, with the proceeds of the recycling being donated to FSC UK. The scheme ran in over 800 stores around Britain, and Sainsbury’s have just announced that over £12,000 was raised. Thanks to everyone who took their cards in for recycling. Make sure you always recycle your paper and card.

WWF India urges people to choose FSC certified paper in massive campaign

There are several distinct actions that consumers are invited to take from the campaign. The first is the widely-used pledge to buy FSC certified paper, and linked to this are ways to spread the message about FSC, and change individual office policies to use FSC paper. The website also hosts a list of FSC certified suppliers in India to get people on the way. All in all it’s a great way of showing people what they need to India uses 12 million tonnes of paper every year, do to protect forests via FSC certification. the same weight as 3,600,000 elephants. This use is expected to increase by 53% by 2020, and The next stage of the campaign will be to focus WWF India are determined to make sure that on the big buyers and suppliers and show that this does not come at the cost of deforestation. the level of engagement generated by the They have joined forces with FSC for the ‘Pick campaign means that the demand is there. From the Tick’ campaign, launched in December 2014 here, WWF India hope that an increase of FSC and designed to encourage individuals and certified paper in the Indian market will further businesses in India to choose products with the increase recognition of certification, driving the FSC logo. process further. Their excellent mini site can be seen at wwfindia.org/fsc and they have also produced three videos to introduce people to FSC and explain what certification means. Linked to these, advertisements have appeared in over 1500 LED screens throughout Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, in prominent public places like airports, shopping malls, cyber parks and bookstores. In the first three weeks of the campaign there were 1000 pledges from individuals and businesses to ‘choose responsible paper’, and the mini website had over 120,000 visits. WWF India also claim that over 400,000 people have been reached on social media and the three videos received over 220,000 views. With a population of over 1.2 billion, this can be seen as a good start, and no doubt countless more people will be reached by word of mouth or by seeing the posters. The site also does a great job of informing businesses of the benefits of FSC certification. Aside from the environmental benefits, the important point about more stable supply contracts is made alongside those for increased profits and enhanced public image. After all, if the wood a business is sourcing is unsustainable, by definition there is a limited supply. FSC certified forests remain as forests and you can be sure with FSC certified products that you have not inadvertently contributed to deforestation or illegal logging. 3

India currently has over 800,000 hectares of FSC certified forest and imports nearly 3 billion pounds worth of forest products each year (Forestry Commission). There has been an FSC representative in India since 2011 who is the main point of contact for anyone in the country with questions about certification. Over 250 companies in India currently have FSC Chain of Custody certification.

One of the family (again): Danzer Group’s journey to re-association

Kim’s Blog

FSC Director General Kim Carstensen explains how Danzer went from disassociation to a frontrunner for FSC certification in the Congo Basin For twenty years now, we have worked with companies around the world to keep our forests safe for future generations. Along the way, there have been many celebrations and milestones for FSC, but that’s not to say there haven’t been challenges. While we work with organisations to help them gain FSC certification, we also recognise that maintaining responsible forest management and upholding FSC’s values are essential to our success. If a company fails to do this, we must take action; for both the company’s welfare and the reputation of the FSC system. At times, this requires us to remove certification, or disassociate, from organisations that are not meeting FSC standards. But this process is not just about punishing poor performance. We always endeavor to find ways for organisations to rejoin the FSC family. After all, FSC is about improvement. We engage in mediation, diplomacy, and reaching out and correcting errors. A good example of how FSC can work with certificate holders to overcome these hurdles is the Danzer Group. The wood processing company had been running operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) but, unfortunately, its systems were not strong enough to deal with serious social conflicts in the area. Greenpeace raised a complaint against the Danzer Group, and FSC’s investigation led to the conclusion that there was significant doubt that Danzer had resilient enough procedures in place. Particularly, as DR Congo was one of the most difficult places to work in the world: with a history of civil war, poor governance and a lack of development opportunities in the forest. Turning over a new leaf After the disassociation, Danzer insisted that it wanted to join the FSC family again. For that to happen, we stated that Danzer had to fulfill social promises made in the DR Congo – such as building schools

and medical clinics – and at the same time it had to develop a qualified set of procedures to demonstrate its capacity to prevent and manage conflict. While at the time Danzer clearly did not agree with FSC’s disassociation decision, having come through a process of reconciliation, the company is now much better equipped. And we’re proud to say that Danzer has worked tirelessly to develop a robust conflict management system. We believe Danzer has now set a new benchmark that could, and indeed should, be followed by all certified logging companies operating in difficult places like the Congo Basin. What’s more, a year and half later, having learnt a lot, Danzer’s subsidiary Industrie Forestière d’Ouesso (IFO) has achieved the largest certified concession area in the Congo basin – some 1.2 million hectares, under a completely new audit. A greener path ahead We’re proud that through FSC certification, we’re making social systems better and encouraging organisations to think beyond their own company to issues such as workers’ health and safety and sustainable water management. Of course, it wasn’t only Danzer Group that learnt from this journey, it was invaluable for FSC too. From meetings with Danzer, we now understand more thoroughly what is, and is not, working with the FSC system. We recognise that FSC certification makes requirements of organisations, and that we need our own systems to make these requirements manageable, while at the same time making sure FSC-certified companies uphold standards – now and in twenty years’ time too.

The Interview

Rosie Teasdale, new Executive Director of FSC UK

What are the main challenges for FSC around the world and how can FSC UK help with these challenges? To me, the challenge remains the same as ever. FSC needs to develop standards that are strict enough to deliver the high environmental, social and economic requirements that our members demand, whilst being attainable and cost-effective for forest managers and those along the supply chain. There are calls for simplification of FSC’s standards but this must be balanced with the need to protect the integrity of the system. FSC UK has a strong role to play as an intermediary between our stakeholders and our International Centre. Communication is key: we need to ensure that we represent the views of UK companies when inputting into standards development and we need to explain the FSC requirements, and the rationale behind them. Out of all the things you’ve worked on at FSC UK as Deputy Director, what are you most proud of?

Rosie began working for FSC UK in 2007 as Marketing and Advisory Assistant and was promoted to Deputy Director in 2009. Before joining FSC, Rosie was the Director of Wales Wildlife & Countryside Link. How has FSC UK changed since you first started working here? Over the last 8 years we have seen an increase in Chain of Custody Certificate Holders from 646 to 2337. Not only do we have more companies to support, their expectations of FSC UK have understandably increased. To meet this growing demand we now have a dedicated business team, providing advice, support and training to UK companies. There has also been a significant improvement in consumer awareness of FSC. In 2007 only 19% of those surveyed had seen the FSC logo before - this had increased to 50% in 2014. Whilst we still have work to do to ensure that consumers are not only aware of the logo but actively choosing FSC certified products, we are clearly moving in the right direction. Again, the fact that we have a communications team, albeit a small team, means that we are better-placed to reach out to the consumer. In terms of the organisation itself, there have been a number of changes. Perhaps most notably FSC UK is now less reliant on charitable funding. We still benefit from grants and donations for specific projects but our core funding is increasingly self-generated, e.g. through contracts with our International Centre and from the trademark services we provide to licence holders.

There are many initiatives that I am proud of, particularly in terms of our outreach and educational work, but perhaps one of my greatest achievements has been developing a professional, well-respected staff team. I am also very proud to have represented FSC UK on various global advisory groups and taskforces. I have gained valuable insights into the challenges facing other FSC Offices around the world and also learned of, and in many cases tried to emulate, their achievements by being on these working groups. What are your main priorities for FSC UK over the next three years?

and promote FSC forest management certification in the UK for all sizes and types of forest.

There has been feedback from members that the FSC system needs to be simpler. How do you think this can be done?

What needs to change, in the world, and at a UK level, for forest certification to be a higher priority for people buying wood and wood products?

We perhaps need to consider afresh the most important elements of our system. FSC has come a long way since it was founded and some of the growth has been organic rather than strategic. Standards that were initially developed with timber yards in mind may not be so appropriate for a wholesaler dealing in finished, labelled products. Similarly, labelling requirements for a door may not be practical for a pencil. So, yes, there will always be a need for FSC to review and update its standards and, in many cases, simplify them. However, although there may well be justification for simplification, this shouldn’t mean we lower our standards. FSC always has to balance the needs of our different chambers - it’s no good developing standards that only meet the needs of the certificate holders. We must listen to the environmental and social stakeholders. We should aim to simplify the system whilst ensuring that the standards remain high and are strictly enforced.

I think deforestation is considered by many consumers to be less of an issue than it was 15-20 years ago. Whether this is because climate change dominates the headlines or environmental concerns have dropped down the agenda generally I’m not sure, but I do believe that the public still cares. The reaction to the proposed sell-off of Forestry Commission forests demonstrated the emotional attachment people have with forests and we need to tap into this - hopefully FSC’s new branding will help us to do this. There is a risk that we can all feel overwhelmed by the environmental problems the world faces, to the point where we feel powerless, but we need to highlight the impact that consumers can have through their purchasing - we can make a difference. Our independent research indicates that forest certification can be a priority for people buying wood and wood products, but only if they know what forest certification means and what to look for. So, this is our challenge – maybe it’s not so much that something needs to change in the world, or in the UK, it’s simply a case of better communicating our FSC message.

And finally, what is your favourite tree (species) and why? This is a tough one but, at the risk of being predictable, I think it has to be the Oak, Quercus robur. The oak produces durable, strong timber and oak woodlands offer a habitat rich in biodiversity. From a personal perspective, I also love that the open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the forest floor for my favourite flower, the bluebell, to flourish. Mind you, ask me tomorrow and I might give another answer as another species garners my affection.

Recent expansion of the FSC UK team has allowed us to be more proactive and to improve our services. Aligned with this is the need to redefine our strategic priorities and I will be reaching out to UK based members of FSC in the coming weeks to consult on the following proposed priorities: • • • • •

Improve effectiveness of how FSC operates as One Global Organisation. Ensure that FSC is positioned as the most credible forest certification scheme. Engage, support and represent existing and potential FSC Licence Holders (including Certificate Holders) to maximise demand for FSC certified products and projects. Inform and educate people about forests and FSC to foster awareness and understanding and elicit positive behaviour change. Improve standards for forest management

Rosie with other FSC Network Partners at the 2014 General Assembly. © FSC A.C.

New FSC Film

EcoBuild

EcoBuild 2015 Review From the 3rd to the 5th March, FSC UK exhibited at EcoBuild, where companies involved in and related to the building trade show off their sustainable claims and explain them to potential customers. In all there were nearly 600 companies and charities spread over two arenas at the ExCel centre in London. Not all of these companies deal in wood or wood products, but of those that do at least 30 already had FSC chain of custody certification, allowing them to pass on the FSC claim to their customers. As FSC certificate holders, those companies are also able to supply wood and wood products to buildings aiming to achieve project certification. Were you one of those businesses? Get in touch and let us know how the show went for our next issue of Forest Matters. Throughout the show we spoke to hundreds of people, from architects to contractors and from students to manufacturers answering their questions about FSC and telling them more about the system. We were also able to give out our new factsheet on Project certification, featuring 240 Blackfriars in London, built by the contractor Mace and with Great Portland

Estates as development manager. There was a lot of interest from architects about having their future buildings FSC certified, something fast becoming an important aim for anyone in the buiding trade looking to make their builds more sustainable. We were particularly engaged by the huge numbers of architectural students who came and asked about FSC. They all seemed environmentally aware and were eager to incorporate sustainability and responsibility into their desings, something that FSC can provide. With our new giant banner displaying the Chain of Custody system through cartoons we managed to describe the FSC system to those who didn’t know much about us - an impressive feat considering the many levels involved! Towards the end of the show, we also had a speaker slot where our Business Development Manager talked to the assembled masses about the importance of sustainable timber in construction. For any company claiming to have social and environmental responsibility, FSC certification for wood and wood products is a must, rather than a nice to have, and it is great to see it becoming more widely adopted in an increasing range of products and projects.

Project Certification film coming soon! Over the last few months we’ve been working with building contractor MACE and client British Land to produce a film about Project Certification, focusing on their latest building at 5 Broadgate. The building, an impressive glass and metal fronted office block for trader UBS, used 1200 metres cubed of wood in the construction, divided between wood forming part of the permanent building and wood used for packaging and protection. The FSC standard for Project Certification, which has been used to certify all sorts of builds from film sets to homes to skyscrapers, only specifies that 50% of the wood used has to be FSC certified. Many contractors however have managed to exceed this level and for 5 Broadgate, British Land contracted MACE to achieve 100% FSC certification for wood. The film will aim to show that 5 Broadgate is a great example that the sky’s the limit when it comes to Project Certification. If a large city block in central London can use 100% sustainable timber, there really is no excuse for any other building elsewhere. Representatives from British Land and MACE are in the film, as well as FSC UK’s Executive Director, Rosie Teasdale.

The main aim for the film is to appeal to everyone involved in the construction industry to use sustainable timber in their builds, but it is also

important for members of the public to know about Project Certification. Someone about to buy a newly built home or looking to move their office to a new block, should be concerned about where the materials have come from and what wood was used in the construction process that isn’t in the final building. There are many ways that companies can get involved in Project Certification. If you want to supply materials to sites then you will need to have FSC Chain of Custody Certification. It is equally important for architects and clients to contractually oblige contractors to achieve FSC project status and for contractors to specify FSC to their suppliers. If you have suppliers that have not dealt in FSC certification before and need help through the process, then FSC UK can provide training. Some contractors such as MACE have also run training for suppliers, and FSC certification bodies give companies advice and guidance through the process. The Certification Body responsible for confirming that all wood supplied was indeed FSC certified was BM Trada, who commented: “BM TRADA specialises in certifying high profile FSC Projects in the construction sector and have been delighted to work with Mace on the 5 Broadgate Project since the beginning. It is very exciting to see it coming up to completion and we look forward to awarding certification for this very prestigious build. For more information on FSC Project Chain of Custody Certification go to FSC Project Certification from BM TRADA.” We hope you’re as excited about the film as we are! If you are interested in hosting it on your website as a certified company then please do get in contact.

News from Canada

Finally, a ray of light amid Nova Scotia’s forestry gloom? Much has been said recently about clearcutting on public lands in southwestern Nova Scotia, including the former Bowater lands acquired by the province in late 2012. Comments both for and against have shown a large, and potentially growing, gap between the various viewpoints of stakeholders and members of the public. Amongst that confusion, however, and the potential for entrenched positions, the minister of Natural Resources has come forward with a welcome policy statement that has the potential to improve this situation substantially. In a recent CBC radio interview, Minister Zach Churchill indicated that the Department of Natural Resources will be pursuing Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification on all public lands in western Nova Scotia. This statement is welcome news, and a breath of fresh air from a department that has often been slow to respond to new ideas. The minister’s commitment to FSC comes on the heels of an independent review of a controversial forest harvest that occurred in an environmentally sensitive area at south Panuke Lake.

That report concluded that although current rules were followed properly, those rules need to change because they are inadequate for achieving the right balance of social, ecological and economic values. One of the 10 specific recommendations contained in that independent review was for the province to obtain FSC certification on all public lands in Nova Scotia. This report adds yet another voice calling for FSC certification. Mr. Churchill is being proactive in clearly stating that the province is “absolutely” committed to pursuing FSC certification for public lands in western Nova Scotia. This comes only days after the department’s written response to the South Panuke report appeared to be non-committal on this specific point. Clear leadership like this is needed for the department to turn the corner from outdated forest policies and toward a more proactive approach to land-use planning.

cultural significance within a particular region and requires any forestry activities to be designed accordingly, so as not to diminish these values. Completing an HCVF assessment will help address a weakness in the current Crown land-use planning framework identified by the South Panuke harvest review, which often misses conservation values at a landscape-level scale. Port Hawkesbury Paper Ltd., which maintains FSC certification on public lands in eastern mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, worked collaboratively with stakeholders to establish a progressive HCVF assessment and a similar collaborative approach for HCVF design is needed for western Nova Scotia. The other benefit of FSC certification for the western public lands is that the process requires extensive public and stakeholder consultation. This brings more individuals into the decision-making process, and when tough decisions need to be made about where

A key requirement of FSC certification is the completion of a High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) assessment. The HCVF concept systematically identifies areas of ecological and

Both the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and Ecology Action Centre (EAC) look forward to working collaboratively with the provincial government as it moves forward with FSC certification on all public lands in western Nova Scotia. This is an important step in the right direction. Chris Miller is national conservation biologist for CPAWS and a board member of FSC Canada. Matt Miller is forestry co-ordinator for the Ecology Action Centre. We would like to thank the Chronicle Herald of Novia Scotia for use of this article.

A postcard from...

Mr. Churchill has rightly identified FSC as the “goldstandard” for environmental certification systems for forestry operations, recognizing that it demands a high standard of environmental performance. An increasing number of forest companies are pursuing FSC certification because it also has the effect of creating new markets for forest products, with more and more consumers demanding their wood and paper products come from well-managed forests.

to cut, and where not to cut, that openness can lead to more buy-in at the end of the day. This reduces the potential for conflict between user groups and also usually means an improved forest management strategy.

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Each edition of Forest Matters will include a small competition. For this issue, can you work out what the certified product is in the photo? Tweet your suggestions to @FSCUK or hashtag #chooseFSC. Correct suggestions will have our lasting respect.

#chooseFSC FSC in numbers 2,321 Chain of Custody certificates in the UK 1,609,590 hectares of FSC certified forest in the UK 28,640 Chain of Custody certificates worldwide 182,377 million hectares of FSC certified forest worldwide Latest figures from FSC IC. Correct as of February 2015.

Forest Stewardship Council速 (FSC速) UK is a charity dedicated to promoting responsible forestry. For more information about FSC UK: www.fsc-uk.org 11-13 Great Oak Street Llanidloes Powys, SY18 6BU 01686 413916 info@fsc-uk.org

Charity number: 1130203 FSC速 F000231

息 Nick Young