Finland’s revised FSC Forest Management Standard has been published. The Standard defines the minimum requirements on how FSC-certified forests will be managed in Finland in the future. It creates a cornerstone for environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically profitable forest management. 
 
With the revised standard, the planning of forest management and the level of nature management will improve in FSC-certified forests, for example by increasing the amount of deadwood, which is important for diversity. Labour requirements and the rights of employees are more clearly recorded in the revised standard, and the rights of the Sámi people have been considered better than before. The general goal of the standard update has been to clarify the requirements and reduce the possibility of interpretation, says Forest Standards Expert Emmi Liias from FSC Finland.
 
The FSC Finland Standard Development Group is satisfied with the results of the revised standard. In the standard, the conditions of forest nature are improved with cost-effective methods based on research data. The revised standard is also economically attractive for the forest owner and sufficiently unambiguous enabling good conditions for the expansion of FSC certification in Finland. The negotiations of the standards working group were conducted in a good spirit and all chambers were committed to finding mutually acceptable solutions, says Sirkka Hautojärvi, Chairman of the Standard Development Group. 
  
The Standard Development Group consists of representatives of the three FSC chambers: economic, social, and environmental, all of which have equal representation and voice. The Social Chamber includes labour unions, recreational organizations, consumers, and representatives of the Sámi indigenous people. The Economic Chamber includes forest owners and companies in the forest industry, and the Environmental Chamber consists of environmental organizations. 
 
Finland's revised FSC Forest Management Standard will come into effect three months after its published, 1.8.2023. After this, there is a 12-month transition period in the implementation of the standard, during which the auditors ensure that the certificate holders meet the requirements of the revised standard. 
 
You can find the revised Forest Management Standard here.
 
  
More information from the standards development group members:  
  
Erkki Eteläaho 0400 636 261(Social chamber)  
Jimi Rajajärvi 040 353 6619 (Economic chamber)  
Lauri Kajander 045 114 0088 (Environmental chamber)  
  
Forest Standards Expert Emmi Liias, FSC Finland, e.liias@fi.fsc.org, +358 41 318 5095