JAKARTA, Indonesia – Greenpeace is withdrawing from the main global group for certifying sustainable wood, saying the organization it helped found more than two decades ago is failing to protect natural forests from exploitation.
Greenpeace said the Forest Stewardship Council inconsistently implements its standards and “fell short” of its goals of conserving forests and benefiting society.
The FSC mark, a stylized tree, is sought by paper producers and other wood users as an endorsement they can use in the marketplace to promote their products as sustainable and charge a premium.
The council had successes in some regions, the environmental group said, but was failing in “high risk regions where democratic and civil society institutions are weak and corruption is high.”
Greenpeace International’s statement, posted on its website, said that the council has become a “tool for forestry and timber extraction” and it wouldn’t renew its membership. It said national branches of Greenpeace that belong to it will make their own decisions about continuing to work with the council.