Timber is one of the world’s only truly renewable natural resources. These organizations are working hard to make the farming of wood everywhere a renewable practice. There are many different species to choose from that give you the option to have the qualities of renewability for your wood floors.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified Wood
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a non-profit international network to promote responsible management of the world’s forests.

FSC is a stakeholder owned system for promoting responsible management of the world’s forest. Through consultative processes, it sets international standards for responsible forest management. It also accredits independent third party organizations who can certify forest managers and forest product producers to FSC standards. Landowners and companies that sell timber or forest products seek certification as a way to verify to consumers that they have practiced forestry consistent with FSC standards. Independent certification organizations are accredited by FSC to carry out assessments of forest management to determine if standards have been met. These certifiers also verify that companies claiming to sell FSC certified products have tracked their supply back to FSC certified sources. This chain of custody certification assures that consumers can trust the FSC label.

Trusted environmental organizations including Greenpeace, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club and the World Wildlife Fund all support and encourage FSC certification. Consumers wishing to support healthy forests and communities should look and ask for the FSC label when purchasing wood or paper products. To find out more about the Forest Stewardship Council go to: www.fscus.org.

Regional Forest Agreements
In 1992 the National Forest Policy Statement established a process for sustainable forest management in Australia. Today all timber harvesting in Australia is controlled under the Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) born out of the National Forest Policy Statement and created through the accord of the government, forestry industry and the environmental movement. To find out more about the RFA go to: www.daff.gov.au/rfa.

International Tropical Timber Organization
The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) is working to use sustainable forest management (SFM) in tropical forests throughout the world. ITTO’s program is designed to assist member countries in conserving and managing tropical forests. To find out more about the ITTO and its goals and management programs go to www.itto.int/en/sustainable_forest_management.