In April 2014, Resolute’s FSC forest management certificate for the Caribou Forest in Canada was audited by the Rainforest Alliance, as part of an annual assessment to ascertain if the management of the forests continued to adhere to FSC’s standards. At the same time, Rainforest Alliance undertook an assessment of the certificate of the Black Spruce Dog River-Matawin Forest, which had been suspended in December 2013 due to several non-conformities.
According to FSC’s principles, all audit reports must be made public as verification. However, Resolute gained a legal injunction against any communication of the final audit report for the Caribou Forest. This action prevented the publication of the audit report and constituted a serious deviation from FSC’s dispute resolution process, an established system to process complaints and appeals.
FSC’s certification system is designed to transparently deal with disputes in a structure that does not necessitate legal proceedings. It includes a comprehensive system of complaints and appeals procedures, designed to ensure that certification decisions in FSC are correct and robust. In the case of a dispute against the outcome of the audit report, the FSC dispute resolution process has a reliable track record for providing binding, transparent and relevant resolutions to certification decision disputes within the framework of the FSC certification system. FSC strongly objects to the effect that this legal injunction has on its system, as it has not allowed for a transparent certification decision to be made based on audit results.
FSC takes no side, at the present time, in the dispute between Resolute and Rainforest Alliance. However, FSC deeply disapproves of Resolute opting for legal action rather than following the dispute resolution process provided by FSC. As a result, FSC has requested that Resolute use FSC’s dispute resolution process to facilitate the dispute and has made a similar request to Rainforest Alliance.
FSC’s primary aim is to ensure that the implementation of its certification system results in environmental, social and economic benefits. Consumers must be confident that the forests providing FSC-certified products have been properly verified as conforming to FSC standards. The overall integrity of FSC certification is paramount to ensure the success of the scheme.
For more information contact:
Monika Patel
Director of Programs and Communications
FSC Canada
Toronto, Canada
m.patel@ca.fsc.org
www.ca.fsc.org
Karen Bennett Van der Westhuizen
Communications Director
FSC International
Bonn, Germany
k.bennett@fsc.org
www.fsc.org