1990 Meeting in California, USA, of a group of timber users, traders and representatives of environmental and human-rights organizations who had identified the need for an honest and credible system for identifying well-managed forests as acceptable sources of forest products. This meeting concluded that this system would include a global consensus on what is meant by good forest management, independent audits of the management and a global umbrella organization. It developed the name "Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)".

1990-1993 Intensive consultation processes in ten countries were held to determine whether there was widespread support for the proposal to develop a worldwide certification and accreditation system covering all kinds of natural forests and plantations.

March 1992 Washington D.C., USA. Interim FSC Board of Directors established.

October 1993 FSC Founding Assembly in Toronto, Canada, with 130 participants from 26 countries. FSC Board of Directors elected.

1993 First FSC forest management certificate (Mexico). First chain of custody certificate (USA).

April 1994 First FSC Executive Director appointed - Tim Synnott.

Summer 1994 FSC Secretariat Office was opened in Oaxaca, Mexico, with three staff. The FSC Principles and Criteria, together with the Statutes for the FSC (now the By-Laws), were approved by the votes of the founding members.

Summer 1995 First issue of FSC newsletter.

February 1996 FSC was established as a legal entity in Mexico. First four Accreditation Contracts signed for Forest Management certification. First certified and labeled product - wooden spatula (available in the UK). The first FSC Working Group (UK) was endorsed by the FSC Board of Directors. Principle 10 for plantations was ratified by the FSC membership.

June 1996 First FSC General Assembly in Oaxaca.

January 1997 First FSC National Standard was endorsed for Sweden.

1998 Group certification introduced. First Non-Timber Forest Product working group meeting (Brazil).

Mid 1998 10 million hectares certified to FSC standards.

November 1998 First FSC Annual Conference.

June 1999 Second FSC General Assembly in Oaxaca. First FSC certified and labeled NTFP product - Chicle gum (Mexico). The first complete book printed on FSC-certified paper: "A Living Wage" by Lawrence B. Glickman.

End 1999 Tenth certification body accredited.

2000 Global Certified Trade Fair in London, UK. More than 1000 participants from 52 countries.

November 2000 Second FSC Annual Conference.

Summer 2001 Second FSC Executive Director appointed - Heiko Liedeker.

December 2001 FSC receives the City of Göteborg International Environmental Prize.

Spring 2002 Policies on Group Certification of chain of custody, and sampling for multi-site organizations developed. Board of Directors decision to establish the FSC International Center in Bonn, Germany.

April 2002 Forest Leadership Forum, Conference and Trade Fair in Atlanta, USA, with about 1,350 visitors from 45 countries and 200 exhibitors.

September 2002 FSC Board of Directors endorses FSC Social Strategy. The Social Strategy aims to effectively deliver the social benefits of certification and targets, among other things, equitable access, capacity-building to support marginalized social groups, and the equitable distribution of market and other benefits from the forests.

November 2002 Third FSC General Assembly of Members, held in Oaxaca, Mexico.

January 2003 Re-location of the FSC Secretariat from Oaxaca, Mexico to the FSC International Center in Bonn, Germany with a staff of 25 people.

2003 FSC establishes FSC Regional Office in Africa. 20 000 FSC certified products on the market.

December 2003 40 million hectares of FSC certified forests worldwide, with 10 million hectares certified in 2003 alone.

2004 First FSC Trade Fair showing exclusively FSC products in Brazil. FSC 10-year anniversary. First FSC Global Paper Forum. FSC Russia Regional Office opens. FSC SLIMF Standards come into force after two years of development. The FSC ‘Small and Low Intensity Management Forest’ Initiative has developed these streamlined standards to further equitable access of FSC certification also with small-scale, community-based, low-intensity pr non-timber product operations. The SLIMF Standards are one outcome of the FSC Social Strategy.

September 2004 Launch of the FSC Plantations Review.

December 2004 FSC wins prestigious ALCAN prize for sustainability and is awarded one million USD over three years for the contribution it has made towards improving forest management around the world.

December 2005 Fourth FSC General Assembly in Manaus, Brazil. More than 300 FSC members attend. FSC members of the Global South are represented in unprecedented force and submit the majority of motions.

March 2006 FSC creates Accreditation Services International GmbH (ASI) as an independent accreditation business entity to further strengthen operations of the FSC Accreditation Program and open the potential to explore new areas of accreditation.

April 2006 Second FSC Certified Trade Fair in Brazil.

May 2006 More than 10 million ha of tropical forest certified to FSC standards. This reaffirms FSC in being the only international forest management standard proven to work effectively around the world – including the tropics.

Spring 2006 FSC market recognition reaches all-time high in Europe. In Switzerland, more than half the population recognizes the FSC label. FSC conquers the paper market in Europe - FSC turnover increases by 50%.

July 2006 FSC Project Certification Standard approved. FSC complies with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice which attests the credibility for setting international social and environmental standards.

November 2006 FSC Plantations Policy Working Group finalizes report marking the end of the policy phase of FSC Plantations Review Process. Proposed changes to FSC Principles and Criteria in relation to policy review recommendations presented to FSC General Assembly for vote by membership.

October 2006 FSC Controlled Wood standards come into force. FSC Controlled Wood clarifies requirements for the non-certified part in FSC Mixed products and helps FSC Chain of Custody certified companies avoid unacceptable sources of wood.

January 2007 Third FSC Global Paper Forum in Frankfurt, Germany, alongside ‘Paperworld’, a major international trade fair on paper and paper products. The successful turnout illustrates the rapid growth of the FSC paper market.

March 2007 Review of the global governance structure of the FSC network begins. The outcome will be a proposal to be presented at next FSC General Assembly in 2008.

April 2007 Technical Review Phase of FSC Plantations Review Process begins. Final guidelines and tools for forest and plantation managers expected to be presented at FSC General Assembly in 2008.

June 2007 Public Consultation of the FSC Global Strategy.

September 2007 Global FSC Strategy approved by the FSC Board of Directors.