Forest Stewardship Council^® (FSC) has announced the winners of the fourth FSC Furniture Awards. In keeping with its motto “Better living, healthy forests”, FSC rewarded companies in the European furniture sector to recognize their commitment to sustainability.

The official award ceremony took place today in Milan at the ADI Museum, preceded by a roundtable discussion on challenges and opportunities in the wood-furniture sector. Among the attendees were: Antonella Andriani, Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI) Vice President; Omar Degoli, President of the Circular Economy group of the European Furniture Industries Confederation (EFIC); Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile; Jeremy Harrison, Chief Markets Officer of FSC International; Diego Florian, Director of FSC Italy.

Award winners in the three main categories

Commitment – for sustainable procurement policies for wooden furniture products

Manufacturer: Gała Meble Sp. z o.o.  (Poland)

Retailer: T&S Home & Living GmbH (Germany)

Brand – for using FSC brand in a conscious and proactive way

Manufacturer: Kvist Industries A/S (Denmark)

Retailer. llva A/S (Denmark)

Communication – for excelling in promotional activities and advertising campaigns

Manufacturer: Stosa s.p.a (Italy)

Retailer: Pier Import (France)

Special mention

FSC Manufacturer of the Year

Indoor: Hammerbacher GmbH (Germany)

Outdoor: Euroform K. Winkler s.r.l (Italy)

FSC Retailer of the year

Otto Group (Germany)

Sustainable furniture in Europe and Italy

Versatile, robust, “warm”, with different species available for different solutions, wood is the furnishing material par excellence. However, nowadays there is still a high risk that wood comes from illegal or unsustainable sources. Despite the growing number of countries and regions that have introduced regulations banning the trade and use of illegally harvested timber and derived products, tracing the materials back to the forest can be hard because supply chains are often complex labyrinths. FSC’s certification of supply chain standards makes it easy to ensure sustainability of wood, with environmental, economic, and social benefits.

For this reason, the furniture sector has shown an increasing interest in certification. In 2022 there are 5,382 FSC active certificates along the supply chain in Europe (an increase of 4.6% over 2021). Among the countries with the highest number of certificates are Poland (905), United Kingdom (760), Italy (631) and Germany (425). For the fourth year in a row, through the Furniture Awards, FSC has celebrated and promoted companies that are leading the way in Europe with their exceptional dedication to offer their customers products that come from responsibly managed forests.