In this context, sustainability includes maintenance of ecological, economic, and social components. Fully implemented, certification will become a market-based mechanism to reward superior forest management. See the bottom of this document for contacts where you can get certification related assistance and identify certified suppliers near you. Although there are other types of forest certification, this publication deals only with third-party certification. It is similar to a corporate financial audit.
Forest certification is a growing trend.
Environmental organizations and forest product and manufacturing companies are leading the movement toward certification. Worldwide, nearly 9 million acres of third-party certified forestlands currently exist, nearly half of this is in the United States and half of the certified area in the US, more than 2.5 million acres, is in Pennsylvania. The FSC currently runs the world's only internationally active third-party forest certification system. The FSC created a set of 10 principles and criteria covering topics such as management planning, plantation management, and environmental impact. FSC-designated agencies organize stakeholder groups to create regional standards following these principles and criteria.