Compliance with Environmental and Social Legislation in Certified Forestry Companies

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the contribution of the FSC forestry certification system to improve the forestry sector, in terms of compliance to environmental and social laws and improvements in working conditions resulting from the certification process. Thirty-seven auditing reports from five Brazilian forestry companies were evaluated, throughout the 2006-2013 period. Non-compliance and observations were analyzed and organized into categories, which identified the main performance issues found in certified forestry organizations. 301 instances of non-compliance and 138 observations of audit reports were verified, where 48 and 57% respectively, were linked to the two principles studied. For obtaining and/or maintaining the certificate it is necessary for all violations to be resolved. Therefore, it was concluded that forest certification contributes to the advancement of the forestry sector in Brazil, in relation to compliance with legal, social and labor issues.

摘要 本研究旨在评估FSC森林认证体系（Forest Stewardship Council）对林业产业的改善贡献，具体从合规性（符合环境与社会法律）以及认证流程带来的工作条件优化两个维度展开。研究评估了2006-2013年间来自5家巴西林业企业的37份审核报告。研究人员对不合规项与审核观察项进行分析并归类，以此识别出获认证林业组织中存在的主要绩效问题。经核实，本次研究共涉及301项不合规项与138项审核观察项，其中分别有48%与57%的事项与本研究考察的两项原则相关。若要获取或维持认证证书，所有违规行为均须得到整改。据此可得出结论：在合规性、社会责任与劳工权益相关议题上，森林认证有助于推动巴西林业产业的发展。