The Forest Stewardship Council(FSC) Asia Pacific held its first regional business forum last month in Vietnam, aimed at bridging the gap between sourcing and supplying certified forestry products
Called Diversifying your FSC Supply: Connecting Suppliers and Buyers, the forum presented an opportunity for the FSC certificate holders in the APAC region to connect themselves to local and international buyers, and vice versa, while promoting their range of FSC labelled products available in the region.
Adam Beamount, regional director of FSC Asia Pacific, says, “With more than a hundred representatives ranging from suppliers, buyers, traders and manufacturers across a great variety of fields, from paper, packaging to timber, constructions and furniture, it is evident that FSC certification is a great solution to fulfil the ongoing market demand for sustainable forest products.
“This is an encouraging sign for market-driven sustainable forest management, and we are looking forward to working further with the governments and the businesses in the region.”
The event attracted more than 100 FSC certificate holders across the region and featured representatives from industry leaders on sourcing responsible forest products, such as Tetra Pak, Kimberly-Clark and Fuji Xerox, to share their case studies and insights on using FSC as a procurement requirement and opportunities and challenges that arise with the growing market demand. Representatives from FSC and WWF also talked about the industry trend of the increasing demand for FSC-certified rubber, while speakers from Olam, Ikea and Scancom shared their experience on the growing demand of sourcing FSC certified timber in Asia Pacific, particularly on up-and-coming solid wood timber species and market trends
