iStock / Daniel Alfenas
Performance and outcomes
This pillar describes the direct outcomes of FSC certification and provides initial insights into social, economic and environmental values in FSC-certified forests.
How do we assess performance and outcomes of FSC certification?
It’s important for FSC to understand the effects of FSC forest management certification. We assess the direct short-term outcomes of FSC forest management certification to gain initial insights about their effectiveness to generate positive sustainability outcomes. We do this based on internally generated data (e.g. from annual evaluation from certification bodies), as well as detailed assessment of outcomes using external data sources.
Trends in the outcomes of FSC: Insights from annual evaluations
We monitor the performance of certificate holders, relying on internally generated data, as well as generic data related to sustainability outcomes.
This dashboard on the trends in the outcomes of FSC showcase spatio-temporal trends, key highlights and high-level statistics at global, regional, and country levels.
Dashboards are still in progress and will be published soon.
Forest cover and health: Case studies of Canada and New Zealand
Assessing biodiversity outcomes in Sweden, Finland and Brazil
In 2023, we initiated a project to assess biodiversity in FSC-certified forests in Sweden, Finland and Brazil, and relying on readily available data to fast-track the assessment. In the following StoryMap, results are presented, taking a further step in demonstrating the value of FSC certification for the conservation of forest biodiversity. The full reports can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
See the StoryMap in full screen.
FSC Italy / Christian Patrick Ricci & Mirko Sotgiu
Outcome Orientation
Traditional Monitoring and Evaluation activities are not adapted to demonstrate the impact of FSC certification at scale given the wide diversity of sustainability topics and forest contexts where FSC-certified forests are found across the globe. A way to overcome this challenge is to bring a stronger focus on intended outcomes and their monitoring as part of standard setting and the certification process. We are exploring this possibility though two main revision processes:
- FSC Principles and Criteria for Forest Stewardship (FSC-STD-01-001) and The International Generic Indicators (FSC-STD-60-004).
- Revision of Requirements for the Development and Maintenance of FSC Country Requirements (FSS and FSC RAs)
More information can be found in the concept note and can be provided on demand.
Outreach
Monitoring & Evaluation program has podcasts in several topics including Outcome orientation and eDNA, which can be found in the FSC’s podcast library.
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Episode 75: The Detail is in What We Measure: Making Impact Measurement a Reality
How we measure impact? How do we know that our system has the effect that we think it has on certified forests? FSC has committed to make its solutions more focused on verifying and delivering proof, which is called Outcome Orientation. This podcast is about the progress in Outcome Orientation.