Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the world’s most trusted forest certification system, is proud to announce its 2023 FSC-US Leadership Awards, recognizing uncommon excellence that advances responsible forest management and forest conservation.
“It is a great honor to recognize the efforts of such diverse organizations and individuals”, says Stuart Hale, Co-Chair of the FSC-US Board of Directors. “They are leading the way in demonstrating how well-managed forests can provide benefits through sustainable resources and natural climate solutions.”
The broad array of this year’s winners demonstrates the many ways people are using the FSC system to achieve organizational success. They span Indigenous groups, forest owners, architects, builders, consumer product companies, and more who contribute to the movement toward responsible sourcing and forest management. “The leadership and commitment demonstrated by each recipient is an inspiration to all, and shows the possibilities that have become realities”, Hale went on to say.
Winners of the 2023 FSC Leadership Awards are as follows:
- Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Flooring / Hickman Lumber / Hickman Timber Management for producing 100% FSC-certified high-quality hardwood flooring through their own sawmill, which in 1999 was the first sawmill in Pennsylvania to become FSC-certified through Smartwood.
- Asociación de Comunidades Forestales de Petén / Association of Forest Communities of Petén (ACOFOP) for 20 years of near-zero deforestation rate in the 400,000+ hectares of FSC-certified tropical forest under their Community Forest Enterprise management model.
- The Coquille Indian Tribe, for their outstanding sustainable forest management and conservation work, leading unique legal accomplishments in tribal trust forestland, fish and wildlife management, and innovative product marketing.
- Crate & Barrel for its commitments and guiding values that prioritize the well being of people and the planet through FSC-certified furniture, catalogs, and product marketing.
- DYPER for its steadfast commitment to FSC principles across every facet of their operations, establishing DYPER as a transformative force in the realm of disposable diapering
- Ecléctico Harina y Madera S.A. de C.V. for being the first FSC-certified wood flour producer in Latin America while promoting sustainability, contributing to communities and seeking a neutral environmental footprint.
- Fédération des Groupements Forestiers du Bas-Saint-Laurent, the largest FSC-certified group in Quebec, Canada. They have maintained a complex forest management certificate of over 4,500 members with 225,000 hectares for over 10 years.
- Galleher, LLC, one of the two largest wholesale wood flooring distributors in the U.S., for promoting and selling FSC-certified wood flooring products for more than 15 years while educating specifiers about FSC certification and promoting the use of certified products.
- Jeff Martin & Yulex for pioneering FSC-certified natural rubber and latex products and natural rubber-based components that provide alternatives to common and widely-used petroleum-based products.
- Mark Richey Woodworking for bringing green manufacturing and sustainable practices to complex corporate, institutional, and residential interior and exterior architectural millwork and furniture projects across the U.S. MRW has been FSC-certified since 2011.
- Metrocolor de México S.A. de C.V., a graphics and printing company, for demonstrating their long-standing commitment to sustainable practices that ensures the paper they purchase is sourced from responsibly managed forests. Metrocolor has carried FSC certification since 2012.
- Monadnock Paper Mills, for its Unplastic Initiative – nine eco-friendly, FSC-certified fiber-based alternative products. Remarkably, Monadnock’s sustainable solutions have already replaced more than 10 billion conventional plastic gift cards worldwide.
- Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry for 25 years of FSC forest management certification, proving success across a wide range of forest conditions, multiple agencies, and evolving public expectations.
- Samsung Canada for partnering with FSC Canada in a fundraising campaign promoting the health and protection of Canadian forests in honor of Earth Month 2023.
- The Good Charcoal Company for 100% FSC-certified acacia hardwood charcoal sourced in Namibia. Reduction of the acacia bushes out-of-control growth has helped restore equilibrium to the ecosystem, aiding the cheetah and other local plants and animals.
- Wahkohtowin Development GP Inc. for partnering with FSC Canada and Green First at the intersecting areas of land stewardship, sustainability, respecting & upholding indigenous rights, climate change mitigation and cultural revitalization.
- Wakefield BioChar for producing FSC-certified biochar, which improves the health of soil, and providing education about the environmental benefits of biochar, including that using biochar reduces greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
In addition, the following building projects were awarded a 2023 FSC Leadership Award:
- Hines, WZMH Architects, 3XN, MKA, and Eastern Construction for 100% FSC-certified mass timber in T3 Bayside Phase 1 along Toronto’s waterfront, a 262,000 square foot, 10-storey mass timber office building.
- Samsara, Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company, WRNS Studio, and Canopy Project Management for 100% FSC-certified wood used in Samsara’s 133,500 square foot interior build-out of their San Francisco headquarters, the 100% FSC-certified mass timber building 1 De Haro.
- Emerson Collective, Redbrick LMD, Winstanley Architects & Planners, Adjaye & Associates, StructureCraft, Banneker Communities, and HEP Construction for Sycamore & Oak, a 23,000 square foot, 100% FSC-certified mass timber retail village in Washington, D.C.’s Congress Heights neighborhood.
About the Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council, the world’s most trusted forest certification, is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes environmentally sound, socially beneficial, and economically prosperous management of forests. FSC was created in 1993 to set the standards by which forests are certified, offering assurance to consumers and businesses that the wood products they buy originate from well-managed forests. More than 4,000 companies and 160 million acres of forestland are FSC certified in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. For more information, visit us.fsc.org.
