The work of environmental governance networks: Traceability, credibility and certification by the Forest Stewardship Council

Abstract

This paper examines how the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has set up a complex network for environmental governance that certifies sustainably produced forests and forests products with a ‘tick-tree’ symbol. Behind this symbol are complex processes of verification which bind together science and policy to support better forestry and which I examine using concepts from science and technology studies. I show how the FSC explicitly builds a heterogeneous network to seek scientific robustness for its standard and industrial support for its implementation. This ‘credibility alliance’ works across the science-policy interface, so that its heterogeneity is not merely a description of but an explanation for its continued survival and support.