Sustainable forest management is, in the first place, controlled management. We believe that the key to ensuring good forestry practices is independent monitoring and certification.  Ecotimber is a founder member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international accreditation  body that seeks to promote good forest management throughout the world.

The FSC has developed specific performance standards for forest management which provide a framework for certification and includes the auditing of forests by independent certification organisations. Timber coming from certified forests is marked and is followed through the trade chain by means of a monitoring and tracking system –  the ‘Chain of Custody’. This ensures that only genuinely FSC-certified timber and wood products carry the FSC seal of approval.

The FSC standards are based on the principle that good forest management must take into account environmental as well as social and economic factors. To date, the FSC is the only accreditation body which has adopted this broad-based approach, therefore we believe that FSC is the only credible independent certification and labeling system currently operating.