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In February 2003, Maderas Iglesias S.A (Greenkett) has
become one of the first Spanish companies to obtain the Certificate of Custody
Chain according to the demanding regulations established by the Forest
Stewardship CouncilŪ (FSC). Thanks to
this, all the products sold under the FSC denomination are guaranteed to contain
at least 71% of certified material in accordance with FSCs percentage policy.
Let us see what all this exactly means.
What is F.S.C.?
The Forest Stewardship
CouncilŪ is
a non-profit making international organisation founded in 1993 in order
to promote environmentally appropiate, socially beneficial, and
economically viable managementof the worldīs forest.
 It is an
association composed by representatives of social and environmental groups, wood
and forest-related companies, organisations of indigenous people, wood community
groups and organisations certifying forest products worldwide. The organisation
is open to all those involved in, or with interest in, the use of
woodhand resources and forest products, which share their goals and
institutional aims.
Being aware of the pressing need to protect our
forests, FSC ratified in 1996 the principles that would define
best management practices for the responsible use of the worldīs
forest resources. Thus, the Forest Stewardship Council was born creating what is
nowadays known as the FSC Forest Certification scheme.
The FSC label or trademark allows to identification the origin of a given
product. Furthermore, it raises environmental awareness with regard to
responsible use and preservation of forest resources. The Council develops
monitoring procedures and accredits certifying agencies worldwide, which, in
turn, certify woods and plantations by means of specialised
technicians.
Certification of the custody chain
Once the forest has
been certified, it is necessary to monitor and trace the certified material
originating from them throughout the transformation and supply chain. Only by
doing so, we would be really sure that a given item stems from a forest, which
has been managed in compliance with the FSC Principles and Criteria.
Greenkett products manufactured with FSC materials contain
at least 71% of wood stemming from well managed forests, independently certified
in accordance with the FSC regulations.
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| FSC PRINCIPLES FOR A RESPONSIBLE FOREST MANAGEMENT |
PRINCIPLE 1.Compliance with laws and FSC
Principles.
Forest Management shall respect all applicable laws of the
country in which they occur, and international treaties and agreements to which
the country is a signatory, and comply with all FSC Principles and
Criteria.
PRINCIPLE 2.Tenure and use rights and
responsibilities.
Long-term tenure and use rights to the land and forest
resources shall be clearly defined, documented and legally
established.
PRINCIPLE 3. Indigenous peoples
rights.
The legal and customary rights of indigenous peoples to own, use and
manage their lands, territories, and resources shall be recognized and
respected.
PRINCIPLE 4. Community relations and workers
rights.
Forest management operations shall maintain or enhance the long-term
social and economic well-being of forest workers and local
communities.
PRINCIPLE 5. Benefits from the
forest.
Forest management operations shall encourage the efficient use of the
forestīs multiple products and services to ensure economic viability and a wide
range of environmental and social benefits.
PRINCIPLE 6. Environmental impact.
Forest management
shall conserve biological diversity and its associated values, water resources,
soils, and unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes, and, by so doing,
maintain the ecological functions and the integrity of the
forest.
PRINCIPLE 7. Management plan.
A management
plan, appropriate to the scale and intensity of the operations, shall be
written, implemented, and kept up to date. The long term objectives of
management, and the means of achieving them, shall be clearly
stated.
PRINCIPLE 8. Monitoring and
assessment.
Monitoring shall be conducted, appropriate to the scale and
intensity of forest management, to assess the condition of the forest, yields of
forest products, management activities and their social and environmental
impacts.
PRINCIPLE 9. Maintenance of high conservation
value forests.
Management activities in high value conservation forests shall
maintain or enhance the attributes which define such forests. Decisions
regarding high conservation value forests shall always be considered in the
context of a precautionary approach.
PRINCIPLE 10.
Plantations.
Plantations shall be managed in accordance with
Principles and Criteria 1-9. While plantations can provide an array of social
and economic benefits, and can contribute to satisfying the worldīs needs for
forest products, they should complement the management of, reduce pressures on,
and promote the restoration and conservation of natural
forests.
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