Year of publication 2008

This briefing note from FSC simply explains the main characteristics of the Group Certification. It is a way for more than one forest operation to be certified under a single FSC certificate. The certificate is held by one organization or person on behalf of a group of forest owners or managers who agree to participate in the group. All the costs involved in certification - such as report-writing, travel costs of auditors, consulting with the public about the forest management - are shared amongst the members. Also the auditors don’t visit every single group member each year - only a sample of members. So the cost per member, is much cheaper than if they applied to have one certificate each. Group certification also usually means that the group members get support from the group manager, or from each other in complying with the FSC requirements for good forest management.