This site attempts to help people interested in forest certification orient themselves to the sources of information available on the web. We do not endorse any particular certification system but are interested in the role forest certification may be able to play in achieving sustainable forestry. If you have any questions or comments please let us know.

Where can I purchase certified wood products?

  1. Certified products and suppliers, or potential buyers of certified products, visit the following databases:

  2. Shop for certified decking products, furniture, timber, and flooring at ForestWorld.
  3. Explore what you can do as a consumer, retailer, manufacturer, builder, or forester to help support sustainable forest certification and purchase certified products.
  4. Investigate Home Depot's sustainable wood purchasing policy.

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Who creates certification standards in North America?

Four groups currently set the standards for forest certification in North America.

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC operates around the world)

•Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI operates in the U.S. and Canada)

• American Tree Farm System (ATFS operates within the U.S.)
• Canadian Standards Association (CSA operates within Canada)

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What are the guidelines or standards for certification in North America?

  1. Forest Stewardship Council. While FSC does have a set of 10 Principles and Criteria for forest management that are applicable to all FSC-certified forests throughout the world, FSC also has regionally-based standards.

    Nine US regional standards have been developed, and seven have been accredited by FSC International. There are nine regions where standards are either endorsed or actively being developed.

    Pacific Coast
    Rocky Mountain
    Southwest
    Ozark-Ouachita
    Northeast
    Appalachian
    Southeast
    Lake States
    Mississippi Alluvial Valley

    In the absence of endorsed regional or national standards, Forest Stewardship Council accredited auditors use their own interim standards or guidelines to conduct certifications (see next question as well).

  2. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative's standards were originally created by the American Forest & Paper Association. As of July 2000 further changes to the standards became the responsibility of the Sustainable Forestry Board. The current standard are valid through end of 2009.

  3. American Tree Farm System. Beginning July 1, 2004, forested properties entering the American Tree Farm System or existing Tree Farms due for their five year reinspections will be measured against the American Forest Foundation’s revised set of Standards of Sustainability for Forest Certification. The American Forest Foundation (AFF), sponsor of ATFS, approved the 2004-2008 Standards in December 2002 and directed national staff to revise the inspection process, provide refresher training for inspecting foresters, and inform Tree Farmers about the new Standards.

  4. Canadian Standards Association Forest Products Marking Program. The CSA SFM Mark demonstrates to customers that forest products bearing this Mark have originated from a forest certified to Canada's National Standard for Sustainable Forest Management (CAN/CSA Z809) and have been verified through an independent chain of custody audit.

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What are the differences between these certification systems?

  1. The YPFC Key Controversies Matrix provides a brief overview of differences among forest certification schemes operating in the US and Canada.
  2. The YPFPG report Assessing USGBC's forest policy options provides a comprehensive comparison among forest certification schemes that apply to forest management in the US and Canada.
  3. The article, Forest Certification in North America by E. Hansen et al., 2006 provides a brief comparison of certification systems in North America.
  4. In 2001, Meridian Institute completed a Comparative Analysis of the Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative Certification Program, two of the most competitive systems in the United States.
  5. Canadian Environmental Network has posted a chart comparing the Sustaintable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Canadian Standards Association (CSA), and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) programs.
  6. Certification Canada provides information on forest certification in Canada, including general descriptions of the FSC, CSA, SFI, and PEFC systems.
  7. Read a comparison of the FSC and the certification system of the International Organization for Standardization.
  8. MetaFore has created a matrix comparing the different standards of certification systems active in the U.S. [American Tree Farm Systems (ATFS), Canadian Standards Association (CSA), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFCS), and Sustainable Foresty Initiative (SFI).
  9. The Confederation of European Paper Industries has compiled a matrix for comparing forest certification programs internationally.
  10. Just what differences exist between the programs is a highly contested issue, with some environmental groups arguing that the differences are large (Behind the Logo), while industry associations, referring to commissioned reports, have argued that while programs may emphasize different issues, they share common approaches and concerns (see, for example, PEFC Council website)

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Who creates certification standards across the globe?

A partial list of links to organizations that create standards for forest certification is listed below.

The ISO or the International Organization for Standardization allows for certification of forests under its ISO 14000 series.

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) program works to promote mutual recognition of certification standards throughout the world. Explore what’s happening all over the globe.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The Forestry Commission of Great Britain, in association with the Forest Service (Northern Ireland) published "UK Indicators of Sustainable Forestry" on 31 October 2002. The 40 indicators cover a wide range of aspects of sustainable forestry in the UK. These standards are now used by PEFC UK and recognized as equivalent to the UK FSC standard.

The Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute provides standards in Indonesia.

The Malaysian Timber Certification Council is a not-for-profit organization that provides standards for good management in Malaysian forests.

The BOLFOR II link to provides information on forest certification efforts in Bolivia.

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Who assesses forestlands for certification?

The organizations that assess forestland for certification are different from the groups that provide the standards for certification. Below are two examples.

Accreditation Services International (ASI) maintains a list of FSC accredited certification bodies.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative does not require third-party assessment however it does provide a list of SFI approved third-party certifiers.

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What is tracking or chain of custody?

Wood Flow Tracking, a system used by SFI, and Chain of Custody, a system used by FSC, is the ability to track wood from the forest to the shelves of retail stores so that the consumer can be assured that the wood they buy comes from a certified forest. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Canada’s National Sustainable Forest Management Standard, and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) all require that the chain of custody be tracked. Clicking on the certifiers’ names, above, will provide information about their chain of custody.

SFI Tracking:

SFI program participants must have an audit-able system in place that monitors management and harvesting activities throughout the supply chain.

To implement this standard, participants must establish systems that generate reliable information pertaining to wood purchased from private forestland owners. SFI program participants must be able to characterize the area from which their wood originates, and assess data that accurately reflects the conditions on the ground related to the wood coming to their facility. This data can be collected internally by the SFI program participant, or externally from a variety of sources, but it must be credible, verifiable and relevant to the participant's specific operations. Third-party certified participants must subject their procurement systems to independent third party audits. This means that program participants must establish the ability to monitor all levels of the supply system and auditors must be able to verify the reliability of reported results.

FSC Chain of Custody:

Chain-of-custody, developed and accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), refers to the complete process by which wood is transformed from a tree in the forest to a final product provided in a wholesale or retail market. In order to ensure that the consumer knows s/he is getting an FSC certified product after the wood leaves an FSC certified forest, the wood must be able to be tracked at every stage—to a sawmill, to a processing facility, to the marketplace. FSC requires companies all along the supply chain to be verified through a third party certification process. Certification auditors follow strict guidelines, established by FSC, for companies along the supply chain to obtain 'chain of custody' certificationt. Therefore, in order for a distributor, a furniture production facility, a wood flooring manufacturer to sell an FSC certified product, they first must obtain chain of custody certification. Chain of custody requires a company to develop a system that separates certified from non-certified wood to eliminate contamination of non-certified wood and to maintain the marketing value provided by certifying their products.

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How is certified wood labeled so that I know that the wood that I am buying is certified?

Labeling is a hot topic in marketing certified forest products. FSC and SFI have different systems and requirements for labeling. Read about them by clicking on the links.

Forest Stewardship Council On-Product Labels

Read about the SFI label and how you can identify it.

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Where can I get up-to-date news on forest certification and new developments?

Get up-to-date news on certification from the Forest News Watch, the World Wildlife Fund, the Forests and the European Union Resource Network (FERN), the American Forest and Paper Association, the Forest Stewardship Council U.S., or the American Tree Farm System. Also see the Sustainable Forestry Board.

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