FSC International has decided that forest certification in Russia is no longer possible, and all Russian FSC certificates will be canceled, according to a statement by former employees of the FSC office in Russia.
After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FSC suspended all trade certificates issued to companies in Russia and Belarus. Due to requests from environmental organizations, the FSC certificates for forest management remained valid, but without the possibility of selling the products as FSC certified. Employees of the Russian office of FSC founded an alternative certification system called Lesnoy Etalon.
According to Lesnoy Etalon, the information about the cancellation of all Russian FSC certificates is contained in the membership part of the FSC website. This decision is based on the announcement by Assurance Services International (ASI), the organization that controls the quality of FSC certification and provides accreditation of certification bodies worldwide, to cease its activities in Russia.
The cancellation of Russian FSC certificates will take place at the end of April 2023. At the same time, the territory of the Russian Federation will be excluded from the area where the certification bodies can be accredited.
