As a consumer, you’ve probably seen the FSC logo on furniture items, tissues, paper, etc.
In over 30 years, it has become the gold standard for sustainable wood.
In this article, we take a deep dive into the certification to help you understand its benefits, its main characteristics and the process you’ll have to follow if you want to become FSC-certified yourself.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international non-profit organization that sets standards for responsible forest management. It was founded in 1993 in response to concerns over global deforestation, particularly following the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
The FSC certifies forests and products that meet environmental, social, and economic sustainability criteria. Its certification is widely recognized as a mark of sustainable forestry worldwide.
The FSC’s governance is quite original. It operates as a multi-stakeholder organization. As such, it brings together environmental groups (such as Greenpeace or WWF), social organizations (trade unions, indigenous peoples' organizations…), and businesses (like Ikea or Williams Sonoma) in a balanced decision-making process.
Its governance is structured into three chambers—environmental, social, and economic—each with equal voting power to ensure diverse interests are represented.
The FSC certification can help companies ensure they limit their impact on the planet, on people, and help them thrive economically.
Let’s take a closer look at these benefits.
According to the online platform Global Forest Watch, between 2001 and 2023, the world lost a total of 488 million hectares of tree cover, representing a 12% decline in global tree cover since 2000. This loss in tree cover contributes directly to Climate Change : a study published in 2023 in Nature estimates wood harvests will represent up to 10% of global yearly carbon emissions.
In this climate crisis, the furniture industry has an important role to play, as it’s estimated that it is the third-highest consumer of wood worldwide.
That’s where the FSC comes into play. It was established in 1993 primarily as a way to help businesses and consumers make sure that the wood and wood-based products that they buy don’t contribute to the environmental crisis.
The FSC certification also includes local communities in their audit criteria, with two main aspects considered:
No furniture company wants to be embroiled in an illegal wood scandal.
Using FSC certified wood, while it’s not a guarantee, it can help you reduce the risks.
The EUDR is a piece of European legislation.
It will require a robust due diligence process for any operator or trader who places wood-derived products on the European market or exports from it.
It will be enforced starting on 30 December 2025 for medium and large companies, and 30 June 2026 for micro and small enterprises.
In this context, the FSC has released two tools to help companies comply with the EUDR:
Simply put, using FSC-certified wood in your products will help you save time and effort to comply with the EUDR.
While the benefits of the FSC certification are proven for the planet and local communities, it can also provide economic benefits.
According to a study led by the FSC itself in 2021, their logo is recognized by 56% of consumers worldwide. And more than 7 in 10 consumers who recognize the label say that it motivates them to buy a product.
Using FSC certified wood can help you boost your sales by proving that your products are using eco-friendly wood.
To certify a product, the FSC requires compliance with several key principles:
If you want to know more about the FSC standards and principles, we recommend checking the “FSC Principles and Criteria for Forest Stewardship Standard (STD)” document available to download on the FSC website.
Once a forest is certified, its products must be tracked throughout the supply chain to ensure that claims about their origin are credible and verifiable.
FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) certification is a voluntary system that enables manufacturers and traders to prove that their timber originates from responsibly managed forests, following FSC's principles and criteria.
This certification establishes a traceability system that monitors the movement of certified wood at every stage of the supply chain—from processing and transformation to manufacturing—ensuring transparency across borders and up to the final product.
To be certified, a wood supplier has to undergo a strict verification procedure to ensure compliance with the FSC standards.
Here’s how it works:
If you want to buy FSC-certified wood, you have two main options:
The FSC offers three certification labels.
Each indicates different levels of sustainability and material sourcing:
If you're aiming for the most sustainable option, FSC 100% and FSC Recycled are the best choices, while FSC Mix still ensures responsible sourcing but allows for some non-certified content.
As a furniture company, you have two main options for FSC certification, depending on your role in the supply chain and how you intend to use the FSC label.
If your company buys, processes, or sells FSC-certified wood, you need Chain of Custody certification to ensure full traceability of materials throughout your supply chain.
This allows you to label your furniture as FSC-certified and sell it as such.
The process involves:
If you do not process or modify FSC-certified materials (e.g., you buy finished FSC-certified furniture and want to promote its sustainability), you can apply for a promotional license. This allows you to use the FSC logo in marketing and communication but does not certify your company or products.
The precise cost of FSC certification is difficult to estimate because it involves many elements (company size, location, audit complexity, and the certifying body).
However, you can expect the following expenses:
