Monday, 27 February 2017
FSC Italy: Boosting the Italian Forestry Sector
© FSC ItalyFSC Italy just finalised their draft for the new Forest Management Standard for Italy, which is now undergoing Policy and Standards Unit (PSU) approval. Despite a third of their territory being covered by forests, Italy is still among the major importers of timber in
the world.
FSC Italy say that responsible forestry involves taking care of forests and adding value to short supply chains, thus giving greater possibility for SMEs and local economies to grow. That’s why they have worked hard on their new standard, talking with their stakeholders and members, and sharing with them their experience.
They hope the new standard will give their national forestry sector a refreshed vision of what’s possible in responsible forestry.
Building a new CSR approach through certification
© FSC ItalyFSC Italy have been working with Tetra Pak® Italy for many years now, and, just as they do with other major retailers, are helping them through marketing and communication campaigns, to communicate their commitment and the importance that certification has in their corporate social responsibility policies.
In 2016, FSC Italy decided to participate jointly at Ecomondo (above), one of the main green and circular economy fairs in the Euro-Mediterranean region:
“We wanted to build a booth that allowed visitors to see and feel the benefits of certification; something other than brochures, business cards and video that would engage visitors and get them excited about responsible forest management.”
They decided to seek FSC Project Certification for the Booth. The Project used over 250m2 of FSC certified honeycomb cardboard, 100m2 of sustainably sourced chipboard and covered an area 80m2. Project certification code ICILA-PRO-000001 confirms the significant use (more than 90% by volume) of FSC certified materials.
Responsible forestry as a common value
2017 will be an exciting, challenging year for FSC Italy: they have recently expanded their office, are increasing core services, and are building new training programs, planning to almost double their presence at fairs and events. They are also working on the 5th edition of their Design Award. The winning project of the last edition: a highly customizable, FSC certified wooden shelf, was launched with a pilot project in a Leroy Merlin Italy’s store.
The successes they have achieved in their first 15 years are partly due to their work and partly due to a brandmark, which is moving away from a technical symbol to a strong brand - well-recognised and sought after by people and businesses.
“What we have found is that, along with encouraging certification, it is necessary to work to spread a more general culture of responsible forest management. In this sense, FSC certification is not just a marketing tool but also a means to create a community that works together to enhance and protect forests - for all, forever.”
FSC Italy’s national office is made up of 5 full time and 2 part time staff. They also have some volunteers helping them during fairs and events. Their office is based in Padua.
www.it.fsc.org
This article was originally published in Forest Matters, our bi-monthly magazine. To sign-up, click here.