On the 28th of September, Parques de Sintra signed its affiliation as a member of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), beginning a certification process with the international organisation that will held to adapt and improve the company’s forest management activities.
The affiliation was signed by the president of FSC Portugal, Eng. Nuno Calado, and the President of the Parques de Sintra Board of Administration, Professor António Lamas, in the Park of Pena. The signing of the protocol is part of the FSC Friday project, which annually celebrates forests and highlights the importance of responsible management.
The FSC is an international organisation that certifies forests around the world. The entity prides itself in standards that guarantee to consumers that correct forest management techniques are being followed. Across the world, the FSC is involved in more than 50 international initiatives and has 14 affiliated companies in Portugal (including Portucel, Altri and Sonae Indústria). The entity's certification of a project/company is a solid guarantee of respect for the current standards of environmental protection.
Affiliation with the FSC affirms the importance that is given to forest management in Sintra, namely in area's managed by Parques de Sintra. The affiliation will encourage even more responsibility in operational terms and it will safeguard economic, environmental and social activities in a forest area that will act as a role model to other companies and institutions working in the area.
As an FSC member, Parques de Sintra will also begin to apply its experience in the management of Serra de Sintra. As a company that is focused on the security and well-being of its workers, one of the main results of association with the FSC will be the improvement and security and hygiene standards in the work environment. Workers will now be further protected while working in the forest, with all of the needed safety equipment for the safe execution of tasks being provided.
Association with the FSC will also allow the company to take part in decisions applicable to national territory, along with the establishing of FSC norms in responsible forest management.
The Forest Stewardship Council
The FSC is a non-profit international organisation that promotes responsible use of forests, certifying foresting activity across the world and guaranteeing that only the highest environmental and social standards are maintained. Wood and paper products with the FSC "ick tree" logo offer a guarantee to consumers that their choice of purchase is helping main the world’s forests.
Found in 1993 as an answer to concerns about global deforestation trends, the FSC is a pioneering forum where, via a democratic process that seeks consensus across the globe relative to responsible forest management, solutions for the world’s forests and the communities that rely on them can be addressed.
The FSC is represented on a national level in more than 50 countries. In Portugal, the Association for Responsible Forest Management (ARFM) was created in 2007 with the aim of regulating FSC certification in the country. The ARFM received accreditation as an FSC National Office on the 1st of July 2010.
www.fsc.org / www.fscfriday.org/
