Abstract
The article discusses the issues of effectiveness of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certification systems in relation to enterprises and the level to which the systems which present sustainability as a part of their ethos are accepted by consumers. The justifiability and topicality of this issue result from the increasingly strong interest in sustainability of the society as a whole as well as from the long-term vision of sector policies with respect to meeting the objectives of sustainable development. The increasing demand for natural resources exerts pressure on our planet. Sustainability is hence essential for our future and has long been in the centre of the European project. Its economic, social and environmental aspects which form the common objective of society have been acknowledged in EU agreements. A principal document of a global nature is the 2030 UN Agenda for Development, a sustainability programme which has the sustainability of forest ecosystems established in its Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. Visions, direction and goals of sustainable development have also been stipulated in the Paris Agreement on climate change (COP21), in the Addis Ababa action programme and in The Future We Want declaration, namely in its Chapter II, which appeals to enterprises and industries for developing strategies which would contribute to sustainable development. This study aims to analyse and assess the justifiability of the existence of certification systems in relation to processing operators and end consumers in the Czech Republic. From the results of the study, it can be concluded that, despite the strong representation of selected certification systems in the Czech Republic, their effectiveness in economic, social and environmental terms is not perceived exclusively positive by businesses and consumers.
Highlights
The contemporary society intensively exploits both renewable and non-renewable resources
When assessing the CBH0 (1) hypothesis, the respondent’s gender was in the contingency with the answers to the question: “Are you interested in the environmental aspects of the production of products made of wood or wood materials?” Considering the results shown in Table 4, the CBH0 (1) hypothesis was rejected
In the case of the CBH0 (2) hypothesis, the age groups were assessed in the contingency with the answers to the question: “How important is it for you whether a product made of wood or wood materials is produced in line with nature protection and conservation?“ Based on Table 5, the CBH0 (2) hypothesis can be partially not rejected since the environmental interest shown by opting for products produced in line with nature protection and conservation was substantially higher in the case of the respondents aged over 40
Summary
The contemporary society intensively exploits both renewable and non-renewable resources. Its ecological footprint is enormous due to the poor management of natural resources. On the basis of the Global Footprint Network (GFN) report, it can be said that the humankind will run into a so-called ecological debt as early as on 1 August 2019 (this means that on that date it has exhausted all natural resources that the biosphere is able to replace in one year). Wide Fund for Nature) European Policy Office report that if everyone in the world lived like the people of the EU 10 May 2019 would have been the day when the humankind had exploited the annual budget of the nature. The issues of sustainability and efficient and sensible management of resources pose a serious problem in the EU, which needs to be addressed in a complex manner and within a short time horizon
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
