GMS CoC vs CoC - Focus: CoC vs FM/CoC

Oct 3, 2026

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Survey results from FSC certificate holders compare CoC and FM/CoC perspectives under the focus “CoC vs. FM/CoC.” Of 32,086 holders, 4,062 completed the survey, with 93% holding CoC certificates and 7% holding FM/CoC. Findings cover participation by country and company size, overall satisfaction, renewal intentions, and key engagement motives including client demands, competitive advantage, improved market access, and responsible forest sourcing. Respondents also report business benefits and sales trends.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Certificate Holders

Response rate

By region

By company size

High levels of satisfaction

Continued commitment to FSC

High demand for FSC

FSC delivers business benefits

Increasing relevance of FSC

Positive perception of FSC

Sales on the rise

Certificate Holders Focus: CoC vs. FM/CoC Response rate Approximately 12.7 per cent of FSC certificate holders participated , with 4,062 respondents out of 32,086 successfully completing the survey. A total of 93 per cent (n=3771) of respondents were CoC certificate holders , and 7 per cent (n=285) FM/CoC certificate holders. By region The survey respondents were based in 95 different countries , whereas FSC had certificate holders in 123 countries at the time of the survey. Some 50 per cent of responses came from ten countries with large numbers of FSC certificate holders: Germany, Italy, United States, China, United Kingdom, Japan, Poland, Brazil, Netherlands and Russia. Most CoC and FM/CoC participants came from Europe and Asia. For therest of the regions more FM/CoC than CoC certificate holders participated. By company size Based on sales of forest products, 68 per cent of certificate holders at the time of the survey were medium-sized companies, 25 per cent were small companies, and seven per cent were large companies. High levels of satisfaction Q: How satisfied are you with your FSC certification? Overall the average level of satisfaction with FSC certification is high for all certificate types. Seventy-five per cent of CoC certificate holders are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their certification, and only five per cent of the state explicitly that they are dissatisfied. In contrast, seventy-eight per cent of FM/CoC respondents are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied”with their certification, and seven per cent are dissatisfied. Continued commitment to FSC Q: What plans does your company have regarding its FSC certificate? The vast majority of FM/CoC and CoC certificate holders indicate they will renew their FSC certification for the coming term, while only one per cent said they will not renew their certification. Ten per cent of respondents are undecided. High demand for FSC Q: What were the main reasons that your company engaged with FSC? Newly CoC certified companies (certified for less than a year) were asked why they decided to engage with FSC, and the top reasons they chose were: client demands, competitive advantage and improved market access. FM/CoC participants also selected the abovementioned reasons as the top motives for engaging with FSC. Competitive advantage and improved market access were selected nearly equally by both CoC and FM/CoC respondents with a slight difference of one to two per cent. On the other hand, client demands , while still one of the top reasons chosen by both types of certificate holders, was selected more by CoC respondents (82 per cent) than FM/CoC (50 per cent) . FM/CoC participants also chose knowledge that the materials come from responsibly managed forests as a main reason for engaging with FSC, matching improved market access (36 per cent each) . In contrast, fewer CoC respondents selected it as a main reason (17 per cent), instead they considered inline with our corporate social responsibility strategy a more compelling reason (23 per cent) . In general, meeting market requirements and operational considerations are more relevant than communicating social and environmental responsibility. FSC delivers business benefits Q: What are the most important benefits for you from being FSC certified? The majority of longer-term CoC and FM/CoC certificate holders state that meeting the demands of their current clients is the most important benefit of being FSC certified; followed by FSC is a way to communicate our sustainability policy and market access-finding more potential markets and clients. The benefits meeting the demands of current clients and market access-finding more potential marketsand clients match the top reasons given by newly certified companies for becoming FSC-certified. This is encouraging as it suggests that FSC delivers on expectations of certified companies in the long term. Increasing releva

FAQs

What was the survey response rate and sample size?

Approximately 12.7% of FSC certificate holders participated, with 4,062 respondents out of 32,086 successfully completing the survey.

How satisfied are respondents with FSC certification?

Overall satisfaction is high across certificate types. Seventy-five percent of CoC holders and seventy-eight percent of FM/CoC respondents are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied,” while only small shares report dissatisfaction.

What are the main reasons companies engaged with FSC?

Top reasons include client demands, competitive advantage, and improved market access. FM/CoC participants also frequently cite knowledge that materials come from responsibly managed forests, while many CoC respondents emphasize alignment with corporate social responsibility strategy.

Oct 3, 2026

Upload by Muffet