FSC to Develop Risk Registry Program

Thanks to a $380,000 grant from the Home Depot Foundation, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) plans to develop a Controlled Wood Global Risk Registry. This program addresses one of the more challenging aspects of FSC’s recently revised chain-of-custody labeling rules—a requirement that any noncertified wood in a labeled product be “controlled” to ensure that it meets certain standards (see

EBN

Vol. 14, No. 2). A joint project of FSC-U.S. and FSC International Center, the Registry will screen all sources of wood entering the certification supply stream to ensure that it did not originate from: forests where traditional or civil rights are violated, forests where high conservation values are threatened, genetically modified trees, illegal sources, or natural forests that have been harvested for the purpose of converting the land to plantations or other non-forest use. “This effort will help all manufacturers, retailers, and consumers of wood products positively verify that their dollars are not aiding the illegal or harmful actions of others,” says Roger Dower, president of FSC-U.S. More information is online at www.fscus.org.