Greenpeace leaves sustainable wood certification group

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Greenpeace is withdrawing from the main global group for certifying sustainable wood products, saying it is failing to protect natural forests from exploitation.

Greenpeace, a founding member of the Forest Stewardship Council, said it “fell short” of its goals of conserving forests and benefiting society.

The FSC mark, a stylized tree, is sought by paper producers and other wood users as an endorsement they can use in the marketplace to promote their products as sustainable.

Greenpeace said in a statement on its website that the council has become a “tool for forestry and timber extraction.”

In Indonesia, where rainforests are being felled at an epic rate, the FSC has given certifications to Korindo, a Korean-Indonesian joint venture. It has been clearing rainforests in Papua for logging and palm oil plantations.