FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (FSC)

Since 1993, FSC promotes responsible management of the world’s forests. FSC certification is important to WWF’s conservation goal of reducing the loss of high conservation value areas, as it provides a link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, and allows the consumer to make responsible purchasing decisions.  

Certification for sustainable timber sourcing continues to grow. As of January 2016, the FSC has more than 191,7 million hectares of forests certified to its social, economic and environmental standards. This covers more than 15% of global production forests as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

ROUNDTABLE ON SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL (RSPO)

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) promotes the production and purchase of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) through its certification scheme.   

The RSPO has achieved several milestones: as of June 2012, almost 7 million tonnes of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) and certified sustainable palm kernel oil (CSPK) were produced by 154 certified palm oil mills with a production area of over 1.3 million hectares. Sustainable palm oil represents 16.4% of global palm oil production (based on FAO and RSPO data, August 2013).

To track the most recent levels of certified palm oil production, please see the RSPO's key statistics and find out how WWF works with the RSPO to continuously improve palm oil standards so they deliver conservation impacts.

MARINE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (MSC)

Since 1999, the Marine Stewardship Council works to tip global seafood markets towards sustainability by certifying responsibly managed wild-caught fish, and making sustainable seafood globally available.  

The MSC wild fisheries certification scheme continues to transform the global seafood market. Over 25,000 products carry the MSC ecolabel. Over 335 fisheries are engaged in the MSC programme. Together, these fisheries land over 10 million metric tons of seafood annually, or about 11% of global wild harvest. For the most recent information, see the MSC website.

Most recent data from MSC and FAO suggest that 52% of global whitefish production, and 12.65% of global tuna production are MSC certified (based on available data August 2013).

Find out more about WWF’s Smart Fishing Initiative, which works with fishers, fisheries managers, seafood traders and retailers to reform commercial marine fisheries towards long-term sustainability – where seafood is harvested in a way that sustains and protects the marine environment, the species within it, and the people who depend on them.  

Read the most recent MSC facts and figures and find out how solutions developed to satisfy MSC criteria have become legal requirements in the South African whitefish industry and companies can lobby Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) for better tuna management practices.

AQUACULTURE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL

The ASC focuses on managing global standards for responsible aquaculture, which were initially developed by the WWF Aquaculture Dialogues. ASC aims to be the world's leading certification and labelling programme for responsibly farmed seafood.   

Completed and upcoming standards focus on reducing the environmental and social impact of farmed seafood. As of January 2016, consumers across 54 countries can choose from more than 4,462 products. Currently the top ASC certified species is salmon, followed by shrimp. Find out more about WWF and responsible aquaculture.