Monday, 21 June 2021
Corey Brinkema: Celebrating 13 Years of Positive Impact
In his 13 years at the helm, Corey Brinkema has left an indelible imprint on the Forest Stewardship Council. In celebration of his tenure, we’ve listed ten of FSC US’s biggest accomplishments in that time:
1. Originally starting with a staff of just four, FSC US has grown to a team of 13 and ended 2020 in a strong financial position despite the pandemic.
2. A result of concerted education and advocacy on the part of FSC US, the certified wood credit in LEED 2009 has remained one of the most important drivers of responsible forest management ever enacted, influencing wood sourcing for thousands of construction projects.
3. Group Certification for Forest Management is an innovation that has helped bring more than one million acres of family woodlands into FSC certification.
4. Aggregating nine separate regional standards into the first U.S. Forest Management Standard (v1.0), including family forest indicators.
5. Adding supplementary requirements for U.S. Forest Service lands to the Forest Management Standard (v1.1), making National Forests eligible for FSC certification.
6. 2017’s “One Simple Action” campaign brought together a diverse set of brands and companies (HP, International Paper, Kimberly-Clark, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, and Williams-Sonoma), aligned around their support for FSC and responsible forest management.
7. Originally known as “Design & Build with FSC,” the annual FSC Leadership Awards now celebrate organizations, individuals and projects that demonstrate exemplary commitment to FSC.
8. Controlled Wood is central to achieving the promise of FSC at scale, so the development of the US Controlled Wood National Risk Assessment, which replaces company-led risk assessments, has elevated system integrity.
9. Generating greater consumer awareness of FSC through achievement of FSC-certification by popular brands Kleenex (Kimberly-Clark) and Charmin (Procter & Gamble).
10. The 2020 introduction of Climate Pledge Friendly, Amazon’s program to help customers identify and purchase Climate Pledge Friendly products, elevates FSC (as the only forest certification included) on the world’s largest e-commerce marketplace.
These ten accomplishments – and many more – are a tribute to the FSC team and the partners we work with every day. Each of these outcomes required a huge amount of work. As president of FSC US, we celebrate all that Corey has accomplished and sincerely appreciate his vision, leadership, and grit.