SGS as Green Sponsor at In Good Company 2015 (IGC 2015)

DURBAN, South Africa - Sept. 2, 2015 - PRLog -- IGC 2015 is a premier global business event, where the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) brings together leading companies, brands and international NGOs. This will be the first time that it will be held in the African continent – giving delegates a rare opportunity to attend both events in the same week, and learn more about the role forestry has to play in generating development opportunities for the people in Africa and across the world.

The South African setting of both of the event offers a platform to discuss both the social impacts of FSC certification, and the importance of forests as a vital development resource for developing countries. On 4 and 5 September, IGC 2015 delegates will also have a unique chance to explore one of Africa’s World Heritage Sites at SiyaQhubeka Forests’s plantations in the Isimangaliso Wetland Park.

SGS will participate as a speaker at the World Café sessions about “small producers and printing” on Thursday, 3 September 2015, from 14:45 – 15:30. The speaker is Gerrit Marais, SGS Global Forestry Accreditation Manager. Read his profile here (http://ingoodcompany.fsc.org/gerrit-marais.77.htm).

For more information, View the Event Program (http://ingoodcompany.fsc.org/igc-event-program.4.htm).

About FSC:

In the twenty years since the establishment of FSC (http://ic.fsc.org/), an ethical idea has been transformed into a globally recognized, credible, and trusted brand in the market.
Since 1994, FSC has grown into the forest certification scheme with the most certificate holders worldwide.

There are now more than 29,600 forest management and chain of custody certificate holders. Over 183 million ha of forest is FSC certified worldwide.
In Africa, the first FSC certification was granted in South Africa in 1997, and since then FSC has grown across the region.
There are currently 417 FSC certificates in 19 African countries overall.
The industries these companies are based in range from printing, packaging, paper mills, paper manufacturing and logging, to wood charcoal, wood furniture, and various wood products.
FSC also has 121 members from Africa who actively participate in the decision-making and governance of the organisation.

About SGS:

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 80,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,650 offices and laboratories around the world.