Reflecting on 2022 with gratitude | With the new year just around the corner, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on 2022 with appreciation for the continued support and commitment towards forest stewardship from the FSC network, partners and supporters all over the world. The developments and progress we achieved together means that the work and mission of FSC is, and will become, more relevant than ever. Some of the more significant ones include:
🌿 The new EU anti-Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will prohibit placing products linked to deforestation and forest degradation on the EU market.
🌿 The adoption of a global biodiversity framework at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP-15) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which includes targets on restoration of degraded areas, and reduction (to near zero) in the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance.
🌿 The launch of the FSC Climate Coalition at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), as a new forum to convene key stakeholders in the fight against climate change.
🌿 The establishment of a loss and damage fund for vulnerable countries hit by climate disasters and launch of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership, which aims to unite action by governments, businesses and community leaders to halt forest loss and land degradation by 2030 at COP 27.
🌿 The passing of Motions 37 and 45 at the FSC General Assembly 2021-2022.
2023 and beyond | We look forward to further advancing responsible forest management, through our projects planned for 2023 and beyond, as well as collaborating with others to promote forest stewardship as the way to enable resilient forests, co-create solutions and contribute towards a nature-positive and climate-positive world.
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Recap 2022
Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) Malaysia had a productive year, carrying out the FSC mission of promoting environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests at a national level. We are pleased to share some of the key highlights of 2022:
- We published the new FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard (NFSS) of Malaysia, which now includes requirements for non-timber forest products (NTFP) (e.g. natural rubber/latex, bamboo, rattan), among others. The new standard presents an opportunity for Malaysia’s upstream natural rubber producers (dominated by smallholders), to meet the global demand-supply gap of FSC-certified natural rubber.
- We participated in several key engagements that strengthened partnerships and forged new relationships, including the FSC Global Staff Meeting in Bonn (May), the FSC Regional (Asia Pacific) Members Meeting in Bangkok (July), FSC General Assembly 2022 in Bali (October), and the FSC Asia Pacific Business Forum in Bangkok followed by a field trip (November). We also participated in several sustainability/ESG-related events as speaker/panelist and engaged with several key local stakeholders throughout the year.
- We submitted a discussion paper highlighting matters and feedback of the national consultative group related to the FSC Policy to Address Conversion in Malaysia to FSC International.
- We welcomed a new Board of Directors for the 2022-2024 term.
- We launched our new corporate website: https://my.fsc.org/my-en
- We ran a week-long FSC Forest Week 2022 campaign with various activities supported by several partners, to raise consumer awareness of sustainable forest management and responsible consumption.
- We celebrated Sustainability Day with Sunway Malls, at The Farm, Sunway Pyramid. Sunway REIT, whose portfolio includes Sunway Malls, is an FSC promotional licence holder (FSC licence code: FSC-N003059).
- We saw the issuance of Malaysia’s first Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) special stamp collection (stamps, brochures and folders) made of FSC-certified materials by Pos Malaysia Berhad, in partnership with UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei (UNGCMYB). In support of responsible management of the world’s forests, Pos Malaysia has plans to gradually switch to FSC-certified materials for other postal products in the near future.
- We were invited to, and joined, Bank Negara Malaysia’s Value-based Intermediation Financing and Investment Impact Assessment Framework (VBIAF) Sectoral Guide (Agriculture and Forestry) as one of the Technical Experts in formulating the guide.
- The total FSC Chain of Custody (COC) certificates in Malaysia increased by more than 200% compared to the average increase in the past three (3) years.
- We moved to our new office in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
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