For the past decade, the Canadian Forest Industries (CFI) magazine has celebrated the best young achievers in forestry with a Top 10 under 40 awards. FSC® Canada’s is thrilled to announce that this year, after a record number of submissions, our Director of Communications and Programs, Monika Patel was selected to be part of this distinguished group.
For almost 15 years, Monika Patel has passionately worked in and advocated for a responsible approach to forestry and sustainable forest products through her work at FSC® Canada. Patel also provides strategic communications support on high profile projects for FSC® International including the organization of the upcoming General Assembly in Bali, Indonesia.
Working directly with FSC certificate holders, including major brands, national retailers, wood suppliers, and forest management companies, Patel forges new relationships and explores ways to raise awareness for the work they do and the products they manufacture.
Creative and resourceful, Patel oversees the development and dissemination of all FSC Canada’s communications – internal and external, B2B and B2C. In 2021, she oversaw a full-scale outreach campaign to increase awareness for FSC and responsible forestry during FSC Week. The week was anchored by the theme Stand For Forests, Stand with FSC, a call to action for Canadians to take a simple stand and make a wild difference for Canada’s forests.
The campaign featured a captivating 60-second video, sharing the mission of FSC, created by award winning motion graphic design studio Good Form, with narration by Juno award winning artist, William Prince. This animated short received an Applied Arts Award for Single Animation.
FSC Week was further supported by social media advertising, creative and messaging, a sponsorship of Canadian Institute of Forestry’s National Forest Week, as well as influencer partnerships that included TV personality, carpenter and renovation expert, Mike Holmes Jr, lifestyle guru Afiya Fransisco, and environmental journalist and TV eco-expert, Candice Batista of the Eco Hub.
To raise the profile of FSC-certified products shopFSC.ca was also launched. A mobile responsive website featuring a wide array of FSC-certified products available to the Canadian consumer.
The campaign reached almost 800,000 people with 115 posts, 4200 likes, and 4400 interactions in one week.
Patel’s role also extends to include membership engagement for North America where she is responsible for its growth and effective governance. A natural facilitator in FSC Canada and International’s multi-stakeholder groups, including environmental organizations/representatives, social organizations/representatives, economic organizations/representatives, and Indigenous Peoples, Monika can always be counted on as a calming force even in the most rigorous debates.
Congratulations Monika on this well deserved accolade.