Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international, non-profit, non-governmental membership association that promotes the responsible management of forests.
The name FSC emerged a meeting of timber users, traders and representatives of environmental and human rights organisations in California in 1990. The FSC Founding Assembly was held in Toronto, Canada in 1993 and the FSC was established as a legal entity in Mexico in February 1994. It relocated to Bonn, Germany in 2003.
FSC UK is legally and financially independent of FSC international. It promotes the FSC system, sets forest management standards for the UK and provides information, advisory and training services.
The mission of the FSC is to ‘…promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests.’
FSC certifies forests globally to ensure they meet the environmental and social standards (Forest Management certification). It also certifies the ‘chain of custody’, monitoring timber through the supply chain by tracking the invoicing process (Chain of Custody Certification). In addition, it offers Project Certification, Controlled Wood Certification and Multiple Site Chain of Custody Certification.
There are three types of FSC label: 100%, FSC Mix and FSC Recycled.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Ancient woodland.
- Cedar.
- Chain of custody.
- Confederation of Timber Industries.
- Environmental plan.
- European Union Timber Regulation.
- Facts about forestry.
- Forests.
- Forest ownership.
- Legal and sustainable timber.
- Legally harvested and traded timber.
- Lime wood.
- Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.
- Sustainability.
- Sustainable materials.
- Sustainable timber.
- Sustainable Wood.
- Sustainably procuring tropical hardwood.
- Timber.
- Whole life carbon assessment of timber.
[edit] External references
Featured articles and news
Edmundson Apprentice of the Year award 2026
Entries now open for this Electrical Contractors' Association award.
Traditional blue-grey slate from one of the oldest and largest UK slate quarries down in Cornwall.
There are plenty of sources with the potential to be redeveloped.
Change of use legislation breaths new life into buildings
A run down on Class MA of the General Permitted Development Order.
Solar generation in the historic environment
Success requires understanding each site in detail.
Level 6 Design, Construction and Management BSc
CIOB launches first-ever degree programme to develop the next generation of construction leaders.
Open for business as of April, with its 2026 prospectus and new pipeline of housing schemes.
The operational value of workforce health
Keeping projects moving. Incorporating unplanned absence and the importance of health, in operations.
A carbon case for indigenous slate
UK slate can offer clear embodied carbon advantages.
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.



















