Sustainability mostly entails whether the locations of logging have been handled with care. What kind of trees are being selected and how replanting is being handled. Wood is also being favored by many because of its ability to absorb and storage CO2. The FSC is concerned with the certification and control globally.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a non-profitorganisation with its headquarters in Bonn, Germany. The organisation was founded in 1993 in Toronto by the initiative of environmental organisations from 25 different countries. Year 2010 the FSC is being supported by international business, governments, civil- and environmentorganisations like World Wide Fund for Nature, Greenpeace and ICCO.
The organisation was established to promote the responsible management of forests, mainly in the tropical areas. The so called FSC-standerd (the principles and criteria) for responsible and sustainable forest management brings social-, environmental- and economical interests in balance. Forest management according to this standard, including possible wood- and paperproduction, protects forests for current and future generations.
The FSC quality mark is being used for wood, wooden products and paper. A timber company or any company that wants to be FSC certified, use the FSC quality mark or use/trade any FSC certified products needs to cooperate to anaudit by independent certification bodies. They are working on a chain of custody where the wood from logging (within the certified forests) is being monitored from begin to endproduct.
Every organisation that has a Chain of Custody registration and uses, processes or trades FCS certified products needs to keep a specific administration.
The FSC quality mark is not a guarantee of quality, but only proof that the wood an paper originate from forests that are being managed responsibly by the FSC standard. This standard is internationally being seed as a guarantee for responsible forest management.
An organisation with comparible goals is PEFC.
(source: wikipedia)
At De Berg Houten Vloeren we use oak floars that are either FSC or PEFC certified.