The forum attracted over 100 FSC stakeholders including certificate holders, certification bodies, promotional license holders and representatives from governments, NGOs and academia. All the participants expressed interest in learning more about FSC certification and sustainable forest management. That the event was sponsored by four certification bodies and three certificate holders is highly symbolic – it shows that after our three-year presence in the country, the value of FSC is now widely recognized in the Korean market. These sponsors were SGS Korea, DNV Business Assurance Korea, SCS Global Services, Control Union Korea and certification holders SIG combibloc Korea, Tara Graphics and 7321 Design.
Especially meaningful is the fact that representatives from the government and affiliated organizations that have not been particularly supportive of FSC were not only in attendance, they actually announced that they would start cooperating with FSC to create sustainable forests in Korea.
The keynote speech by former UN Climate Ambassador Raekwon Chung and the presentation by local eco-celebrity Tyler Rasch were both well received. Both Mr Rasch and YG Entertainment received the FSC Korea Leadership Award, while eight sponsors received plaques of appreciation.
The first session was moderated by forestry expert Prof. Yoon, and was followed by presentations from Mr Rasch, the Korea Forestry Service, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Korea, and FSC’s own Jeremy Harrison. In the second session, SK Hynix, SIG Korea and Tara Graphic presented examples of how companies practice sustainable management using FSC-certified products.
The forum went smoothly and successfully, with the participants reporting an overall satisfaction rate of 4.62 out of 5 – several of them commented that they particularly liked the forum's content, exquisite venue and networking opportunities between FSC-certified material suppliers and buyers.
FSC Korea is looking forward to hosting another Business Forum soon!
For enquiries, please contact Seong Ok Kwon s.kwon@fsc.org of FSC Korea.