Competing for Legitimacy: The Development and Evolution of Forest Certification in Finland

Forest certification in Finland has developed and evolved in favor of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC) and not the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The Finnish Forest Certification System (FFCS as endorsed by PEFC) certification of forests in Finland has been achieved at an unprecedented rate and scale. This event, both in process and outcome, was highly contentious and politicized. Finland represents a microcosm of the current issues in forest certification and is ripe for study. However, few attempts have been made to explain why and how forest certification develops and evolves. This thesis sheds light on this deficiency by discussing key characteristics of the two rival schemes in Finland, postulating key factors explaining why certification developed in favor of PEFC and not FSC, and presenting an analysis of the ecological rigor of the two schemes. The results indicate that the associations that represent Finland’s small non-industrial private forest landowners have been immensely influential. Also, until there is a significant demand from the end consumer for FSC certified products, it appears that Finnish landowners and industry will continue to support the scheme with less rigorous standards, that is less intrusive and costly, and that is more politically acceptable.