FSC ® is an international association of members consisting of a diverse group of representatives from environmental and social groups, the timber trade and the forestry profession, indigenous peoples’ organizations, responsible corporations, community forestry groups and forest product certification organizations from around the world. Therefore, FSC has a unique governance structure that is built upon the principles of participation, democracy and equity. Three levels of decision-making In order to balance the interests of different stakeholders, FSC is governed by three chambers with equal votes and power and that make decisions cooperatively. The General Assembly of FSC Members is the highest decision-making body in FSC and is made up of the three membership chambers: Environmental, Social and Economic, which are further split into sub-chambers: North and South. The Southern sub-chamber is comprised of organizations that are legally registered in a non high-income country, while organizations that are legally registered in a high-income country make up the Northern sub-chamber. As an individual member, you join the sub- chamber of the country in which you hold citizenship. FSC follows the World Bank definition in our classification of Southern and Northern countries. The purpose of the chamber structure is to maintain the balance of voting power between different interests, without having to limit the number of members. This guarantees equal weight of votes and influence for the different interest groups, as well as for representatives from different parts of the world and degrees of economic power. FSC International Center GmbH • Charles-de-Gaulle-Strasse 5 • 53113 Bonn • Germany Phone +49 (0) 228 367 66 0 • Fax +49 (0) 228 367 66 30 • [email protected] • www.fsc.org May 2012 AT A GLANCE . . . FSC GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE • Built upon the principles of participation, democracy and equity • The General Assembly of FSC Members is the highest decision-making body in FSC • There are three membership chambers: Environmental, Social and Economic • The three chambers have equal votes and power FSC’S UNIQUE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF FSC MEMBERS FSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS DIRECTOR GENERAL Social Economic Environmental North North North South South South ® Forest Stewardship Council ® FSC ® International Center