Saturday, 01 February 2003
FSC International Headquarters Moves to Bonn
In March 2002, the FSC International Board of Directors approved the establishment of an FSC International Center in Europe, accepting an offer for support from the governments of the city of Bonn, Germany, the German federal state of North-Rhine-Westphalia, and the Federal Republic of Germany.
The decision to move FSC’s headquarters out of the current office in Oaxaca, Mexico, was based on a 2001 recommendation from FSC’s Change Management Team (CMT). Based on FSC’s unprecedented success and growth, and the need to expand the network to grow even further to fulfill FSC’s mission, the CMT indicated a need for the comprehensive decentralization of services. As part of this decentralization process, an International Center would be established, as well as four Regional Offices.
The main function of the FSC International Center in Bonn will be to coordinate FSC actions worldwide, in close contact with the Regional Offices and National Initiatives. The following units will be headquartered at the International Center: Accreditation Business Unit; Communications and Marketing Unit; Standards and Policy Unit; Regional Coordination Unit; Office Management and Human Resources Unit; and the Executive Director’s Office.
The Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) will facilitate the work of the Regional Offices to be established. The current office in Oaxaca will become the FSC Latin American Regional Office, serving all countries from Central and South America, and Mexico. Definite locations for the FSC Regional Offices in Asia, Africa and Europe have not yet been determined. The RCU will also work directly with the United States, Canada, Russia and China, as these countries are big enough to be considered “regions" by themselves.
The move to the FSC International Center is scheduled to be complete by February 1, 2003. Most staff members currently in Oaxaca will be maintaining the same positions in Bonn. The contact information is as follows: FSC International Center Bonn, Goerresstrasse 15/IIa, 53113 Bonn, Germany; Phone: +49 228 367 66 0 ; Fax: +49 228 367 66 30. The website (www.fscoax.org) and email addresses for staff members will remain the same.