Forest Stewardship Council – FSC

FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.

It provides standard setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services for companies and organizations interested in responsible forestry.

Products carrying the FSC label are independently certified to assure consumers that they come from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations.

http://www.fsc.org

Sustainable Forestry Initiative – SFI

The Sustainable Forestry initiative is a fully independent, non-profit, charitable organization with a science-based, internationally recognized forest management standard developed specifically for North American forests.

With more than 160 million acres certified across North America, the SFI sustainable forest certification program is one of the largest in the world, with a standard based on principles and measures that promote responsible environmental behavior and sound forest management including measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests of exceptional conservation value.

The SFI forest standard is endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes, a global umbrella organization that has strict requirements for endorsement.

http://www.sfiprogram.org

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification - PEFC

The PEFC Council is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, founded in 1999 which promotes sustainably managed forests through independent third party certification.

PEFC’s aim is to assure that the world’s forests are managed sustainably and that their functions are protected for present and future generations.

PEFC certified timber and paper products are an independently verified assurance to consumers and companies that they are buying wood products from sustainably managed forests. By choosing PEFC, buyers can help combat illegal logging.

PEFC’s role, as an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, is to secure that the same high standards are applied by all its endorsed certification systems globally and thus by forest managers, paper and timber companies and their external certifiers.

http://www.pefc.org