Sustainability in Forests & Paper: FSC Certification

What is FSC?

If you’ve been trying to be green in your printing, you’ve probably heard about FSC certification. The idea for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) grew out of the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil. It’s an international non-profit that set forth principles that have become established as the accepted criteria for sustainable forestry practices. The FSC is headquartered in Germany and has initiatives in 46 countries around the world.

Its own stated vision is one of sustainability: “The world’s forests meet the social, ecological, and economic rights and needs of the present generation without compromising those of future generations.” In order to accomplish this, the FSC has outlined 10 principles that must be followed to guarantee sustainable forestry practices:

• Compliance with laws and FSC principles: Forest management will respect all national & international laws.
  
• Tenure and use rights and responsibilities: The rights to the land will be clearly defined and legally established.
  
• Indigenous people’s rights: The rights of indigenous people to own, use, and manage their lands will be respected.
  
• Community relations and worker’s rights: Forest management will maintain the well-being of local communities and forest workers.
  
• Benefits from the forest: Forest operations will be managed efficiently to ensure economic viability and environmental and social benefits.
  
• Environmental impact: Forest management will work to maintain the ecological functions and integrity of the forest.
  
• Management plan: A plan with long-term objectives will be prepared and followed.
  
• Monitoring and assessment: The condition of the forests and social and environmental impacts will be monitored.
  
• Maintenance of high conservation value forests: A precautionary approach will be taken in the management of high conservation value forests.
  
• Plantations: Plantations (artificially established forests) should also meet principles 1-9 and protect natural forests.
  

What does FSC certification mean for your printing?

FSC certification means that your paper comes from forests that were sustainably managed to protect the environment and respect local communities. A strict chain-of-custody, which tracks the paper through the distribution process from the forest to your final printed piece, gives you the assurance that your printing is in line with your values – that it is not causing undue social or environmental harm. As printers, we ensure that this chain-of-custody is preserved by keeping the FSC and non-FSC papers separated on our shop floor and maintaining records of all of the orders that are printed on FSC papers, among other requirements.

At Greenerprinter, we carry three FSC-certified papers in stock: Reincarnation (our matte paper; the 16 pt. stock is used for all business cards), Primavera (our glossy paper), and the Everest (our uncoated paper). If you’d like to see the quality of recycled, FSC-certified papers, you can request a sample packet here.