FSC Adopts Motion 30: A Turning Point for System Integrity
At FSC’s 2025 General Assembly in Panama, FSC took a historic step towards stronger traceability and credibility. Motion 30 paves the way for a universal digital system for everyone trading FSC-certified products, making it far more difficult to cheat with FSC-certified wood.
In late October 2025, more than 600 members from around the world gathered in Panama for FSC’s triennial global General Assembly and summit on sustainable forest management.
After days of intense negotiations, compromises, and dialogue across sectors, interests, and regions, a decisive moment in FSC’s history was achieved.
When the results became clear, they exceeded all expectations. Motion 30 was adopted by a large majority even among members of the Economic Chamber, many of whom had been sceptical ahead of the Assembly.
A Digital Safeguard
For decades, FSC has set the benchmark for responsible forest management, but the system has had one Achilles heel: it has been far too easy to cheat.
Over the years, several cases have been uncovered in which non-certified wood was sold as FSC-certified—for example, in 2023, when it was discovered that Russian birch plywood had illegally entered the EU via China and that some of it was falsely labelled as FSC through Chinese “shell companies” exploiting loopholes in FSC’s traceability system.
Motion 30 does not change everything overnight. But it gives FSC a clear mandate to develop a universal digital system for all FSC-certified enterprises and supply chains, designed to make it much harder to manipulate information about where wood actually originates and how much is being traded.
“The fact that M30 has now been adopted with such a strong majority shows that FSC members across sectors, interests, and regions genuinely wish to strengthen the system’s integrity and credibility. The new digital traceability system will make it far more difficult to cheat with FSC-labelled products—and therefore much more attractive to act responsibly.”
~ Jens Holm Kanstrup, Senior Technical Advisor, Forests of the World.
Credibility as Currency
In a market where labels and certifications compete for trust, integrity has become a currency in its own right. When an FSC logo appears on a product, both consumers and businesses must be confident that it truly originates from responsibly managed forests.
Therefore, M30 is not merely a technical decision about data systems—it is an ethical commitment to full traceability, and thus to credibility. The motion was tabled by a broad group: Forests of the World, Kingfisher, B&Q, Precious Woods, WWF, Ørsted, and APCOB (a partner organisation from Bolivia).
This collaboration clearly demonstrates that NGOs and the private sector can stand together to raise the standard of FSC’s credibility and thereby the market value of the label.
A Digital System for the Sake of the Forests
The new system will serve as a digital volume- and traceability-tool enabling every FSC-certified product to be followed through the supply chain—from forest to shop.
In this way, FSC and the independent assurance bodies will be able to detect if more certified wood is being sold than is actually produced. At the same time, it opens opportunities to communicate more directly to consumers about the positive contributions made by forest owners to climate, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services.
“It may sound simple, but in practice this is precisely where the system’s vulnerability lies. When we strengthen control of volumes and traceability, we help both the forests supplying certified wood and the companies striving to trade responsibly.”
~ Jens Holm Kanstrup, Senior Technical Advisor, Forests of the World.
A Shared Responsibility
The adoption of Motion 30 marks the culmination of many years of work. Verdens Skove, together with Danish and international FSC networks, has long pressed FSC to modernise and reinforce how it controls the origin and flow of FSC-certified products particularly within complex supply chains.
But it also marks the beginning of a new phase:
FSC must now develop a Roadmap towards full implementation by 2030, including an assessment of how the system can best be applied globally across all FSC-certified enterprises without placing an unfair burden on small producers.
We’ve fought for this for a long time, and it feels good that there is finally consensus that integrity is non-negotiable. It’s a victory for FSC—but ultimately, it’s a victory for the forests.”
~ Jens Holm Kanstrup, Senior Technical Advisor, Forests of the World.
What is Motion 30?
- Motion 30 was adopted at the FSC General Assembly 2025 in Panama by a large majority.
- The decision mandates FSC to develop a global digital system for traceability and volume control within FSC-certified supply chains.
- The goal is to prevent fraud and false FSC-labelled products—and to strengthen trust in the label.
- By the end of 2027, FSC must prepare an Assessment and a Roadmap for how the system can be implemented globally by 2030.
- The final requirement for all enterprises to use the system must be approved by the membership at the next General Assembly in 2028.
- The motion was put forward by a broad coalition of organisations and companies, including Forests of the World, Kingfisher, B&Q, WWF, Ørsted, Precious Woods, and APCOB.
About Jens Holm Kanstrup
Jens Holm Kanstrup is Senior Technical Advisor at Forests of the World and has worked with certification and sustainable forest management for over two decades. He previously coordinated FSC Denmark and contributed to developing national FSC standards in several countries most recently in Ethiopia in 2024. Since 2003, he has worked in Forests of the World to strengthen the integrity of global certification systems and the connection between climate, biodiversity, forest conservation, and sustainable trade.
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