FSC™ established in Norway

Establishment of a national FSC™ office in Norway

There is increasing interest for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in Norway, and work is currently underway to establish a national FSC office in Norway. In the spring of 2020, a local initiative group started the process to establish a Norwegian FSC office, and as the first step towards this goal, an association called “Skogen” (the forest) was established in the autumn of 2020.

This association is a Norwegian member association for companies and organizations that want to establish a Norwegian FSC office. Elopak is a memberand welcomes and supports this initiative. The association’s main purpose is to apply for approval to establish a national FSC office from FSC International.

Elopak finds it positive that there is increased interest in FSC and certified forestry in Norway, a small country with a high prevalence of forests.  We hope that the Norwegian FSC office can help facilitate more FSC-certified forests in Norway, being one of the countries fo which we source our main raw material. 

*The Forest Stewardship Council™(FSC™). FSC™ C081801. Look for FSC certified products – the mark of responsible forestry. www.fsc.org

“We are very pleased to finally have our own Norwegian FSC office! This is a process that has been ongoing since 2019 and was initially started in connection with the work being done to develop a Norwegian FSC forestry standard. Previously it was the Danish FSC office that was responsible for FSC in Norway, but we believe it is absolutely necessary to have our own office to fully utilize the potential we see for growth and interest in FSC in Norway, both in the industry and forestry. A Norwegian office will be in a better position for seeing and detecting the needs of Norwegian companies, forest owners, and organizations. The demand for FSC-certified wood and products is increasing in the international market, and we want to help increase awareness and demand for FSC-certified products in Norway, as well as contribute to increasing the proportion of forests that are FSC-certified both in Norway and internationally. This is because the FSC forest certification scheme has the strictest demands relating to safeguarding important environmental values, and which, with its organizational structure, ensures a balance between different stakeholders at all decisions levels. Increasing the demand for FSC-certified products will help increase the incentives for more forests to become FSC-certified and, by doing so, increase the area of forests subject to the strict requirements set by the FSC standards for safeguarding the rights of local and indigenous peoples, environmental values, and demands related to conversion, deforestation, and equality.”

Marianne Hansen, secretary, FSC Norway