The Forest Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organisation that promotes and certifies responsible management of forests through a market-based timber certification system.
Established in Germany in 1993 as a response to concerns over global deforestation, the FSC operates as a multistakeholder body with around 1,200 members including the World Wide Fund for Nature and IKEA. The organisation developed ten principles and associated criteria that form the basis for all FSC standards and certification. Products carrying the FSC logo indicate sourcing from what the council defines as environmentally, socially and economically responsible forests. The council develops both global certification standards and tailored national standards in selected countries, using market mechanisms to shape transnational environmental policy on forest management and timber production.
