The Role of FSC in Sustainable Public Procurement

FSC aims to encourage public procurers to promote sustainable forest management through their procurement choices. And it offers a concrete, relevant tool, which is FSC-certified products and, in particular for construction projects, a reliable system whereby procurers can verify whether the chosen construction firms work with certified materials as required and promised. In particular smaller public entities will often not have the necessary capacity and knowledge to verify sustainable origin of offered products, or even to formulate the optimal combination of (environmental and social) requirements. Also, public procurers have to respect and apply national and international rules which are not always very clear on how far a procurer can go in requirements that are not directly about the quality of the product and its functioning, but more about the circumstances under which the product was made or on impacts of its natural resource base. FSC gives advice on its website on regarding formulations and compliance with laws as well on how to follow up tenders and contracts. The website also introduces FSC as a network with national and regional offices around the world, which can be of more direct assistance for public procurers. FSC activities promoting public procurement take place at the national, regional (EU and Latin America in particular) and global level. National offices advise public procurers on request and pro-active. In the EU, FSC is involved in discussions on green public procurement guidance, and at the global level, FSC takes part in SDG-related discussions and events, promoting public procurement as a major tool for public authorities to support and create demand for sustainable production and consumption. This is an activity with no clear end-date. In order to limit climate change, halt biodiversity loss, stop deforestation and forest degradation globally, in the context of a growing world population and even faster growing material demand, we need to achieve a 100% sustainable procurement rate. All procurement should support SDGs and the Paris Agreement. We will continue promoting that. Please contact the FSC offices in your country or region. All can be found at the FSC website. And for questions at the EU or global level, please contact me: j.hontelez@fsc.org