FSC and SFI Environmental Certifications
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international not-for-profit organization established to promote responsible management of the world’s forests and forest resources. It was established in 1993 in response to the inability of the world’s nations to enact any binding laws addressing the rampant deforestation around the planet. The organization has developed a world-wide system for addressing sustainability through the management, certification of forest resources and labeling their subsequent products. The FSC organization has attained a respectable level of activity for forest conservation including a proclaimed sensitivity for native human and threatened species populations, of which many are at serious risk.
Conservation aims are achieved through accredited certifications by meeting the standards of FSC organizational audits. If participant compliance is not achieved the organization can then issue Corrective Action Requests for prescribed changes. There is also a Chain of Custody system which allows the tracking of FSC certified material from the forest to the consumer. Paper, printing and forest product companies can then join and comply with FSC program standards with subsequent FSC labeling of their products for consumer assurance. The FSC program makes perfect sense for wood products but what about paper?
FSC PAPER
It should be noted that some printing and writing papers which achieve the FSC labeling may not carry any post-consumer or recycled content whatsoever. This is a serious concern to those of us in environmental paper advocacy who believe that our best chances for sustainability lie in well-oiled paper recovery and recycling systems. Since we are currently not utilizing all available wastepaper resources, it stands to reason that it may not yet be time to switch the emphasis away from recycling and toward virgin pulp for paper. One must also consider the fact that much of the paper industry is entrenched in the old industrial infrastructures of harvesting virgin timber from various sources that are often entirely unidentifiable. If the Forest Stewardship Council does not required recycled content in their certified papers, it tends to diminish the impetus for recycling advocacy and create a de facto loop-hole for virgin pulp mills to re-characterize or greenwash themselves with catchword phrases like “sustainable forestry”, “paper from responsible sources”, and a myriad of other questionable claims. We at Recycled Paper Matters would be more comfortable with the Forest Stewardship Council if they required some level of post-consumer recycled content in their certified papers.
SFI Certifications
One of the attributes that adds to the credibility of FSC labeled products is that the Forest Stewardship Council is an independent authority. The Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) is another common environmental paper certification label that is often seen on wood and paper products. The SFI situation is a bit different because this label is an internal program of the American Forest and Paper Association which is in effect certifying their own industry’s products.
Here is a quote from one of the nation’s most highly respected forest groups, Forest Ethics concerning the Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) program:
“The Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s label approves environmentally irresponsible forestry practices. Despite its ‘Good for you. Good for our forests.’ logo, the SFI program certifies logging practices that have a disastrous impact on North American forests. Here’s an example: SFI’s rules do not require any work to restore forests that are essential for the survival of rare wildlife.
The average clearcut approved by SFI is the size of 90 football fields. Whether it’s the average SFI-approved clearcut, or bigger, the damage to watersheds, water quality and soil productivity are often permanent. SFI allows excessive use of toxic chemicals such as pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides that contaminate fresh water.”
Conclusion:
Many paper mills still make it their primary environmental commitment to incorporate PCW or post-consumer waste content in their papers. Many also comply with FSC standards for any virgin forest resources that are used in their manufacturing processes. Informed consumers will still demand high percentages, if not 100%, recycled content in their paper purchases. As an environmental paper consumer or purchasing agent one should not accept any paper that does not have recycled content. The best FSC certified papers are called FSC Certified Recycled and the label looks like this.
100% Post-Consumer
Without the chasing arrows of the recycled emblem on the label there probably is no recycled content whatsoever in the paper.
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