Green Certification and the Quest for Sustainability

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Green Certificationand the Quest for
Sustainability
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What is green certification?

• A market driven solution to social value-driven
  problems (Vogt et al. 2000 5)
• Green Certification is a way to differentiate
  forest goods produced using ecologically sound
  and sustainable management practices through
  the use of eco-labels.

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Examples of Eco-labels
Forest Stewardship Council
American Forest and Paper Association
Rainforest Alliance
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The Goals of Green Certification

• Address public environmental concerns and values
• Promote holistic management of forests to ensure
  that ecological health is maintained
• Balance conservation and sustainable use

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Origins

• Resulted from environmental
• movement of 1960s and 1970s
• Developed in order to slow
• down the rate of tropical
• deforestation
• Concept progressed into a
• worldwide phenomenon

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Overview of certification process

1. Pre-assessment
2. Stakeholder Consultation
3. Main Assessment
4. Peer Review
5. Certification
6. Periodic Inspection

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To be certified, the following criteria must be
met

• All applicable national and international laws
  should be respected
• Tenure and use rights should be documented
• 3. Indigenous peoples rights should be
  respected
• 4. Workers long-term social and economic well
  being should be maintained or enhanced
• 5. Forest products and services including
  economic, social, and environmental should be
  efficiently used

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Criteria continued

• 7. A management plan should be written and
  implemented
• Periodic monitoring and assessment
• 9. High conservation value forests should be
  maintained with a precautionary approach
• 10. Plantations should compliment and promote
  conservation of natural forests
• (FSC Pocket Guide)

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Issues associated with Certification

• Obtaining certification must be economically
  feasible
• Willingness to pay by consumers
• - the literature points toward an increasing
• market for eco-labeled products
• The certification process needs to be trustworthy
  and independent
• -chain of custody

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But can Certification Achieve Sustainability?

• High energy demands resulting from a global
  economy
• Rising consumption levels
• An economic system that encourages and relies
  upon growth

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Moving Beyond Green Certification

• Implementing government policies that promote
  sustainable use of natural resources
• -tax negative externalities
• Changing the economic growth paradigm
• Lowering consumption levels

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Questions?
Questions?