FSC celebrates companies’ commitment to sustainability through its 2022 Furniture Awards

For the fourth year in a row, through the Furniture Awards, the Forest Stewardship Council (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.

FSC announces 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 ceremony was held at the ADI Design Museum in Milan.

“The winners have demonstrated their exceptional commitment to the sustainability of their raw materials,” said Alexia Schrott, FSC Italy Marketing Manager and Furniture Awards project manager. “They chose FSC certification to prove that, and FSC celebrates their commitment with these awards.”

The official award ceremony took place on 28 October 2022 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.

Here are the 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 mentions

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)

“According to our 2021 Global Consumer Research, more and more people are seeking out furnishings made from sustainable sources: eight out of ten people expect companies to sell wood and paper products that don’t cause deforestation. Among those who recognize the FSC label, almost the same proportion – 8 out of 10 - prefer FSC-certified over non-certified products,” said Jeremy Harrison, Chief Markets Officer of FSC International. “The data demonstrates that FSC's mission to offer sustainably sourced raw materials for manufacturers, retailers, and consumers can really make a difference and contribute to the zero-deforestation strategy promoted by the European Union”.

Alexia Schrott added: “We are happy to see that the response of the companies has been high despite the difficulties brought by the pandemic crisis first and then by the scarcity of raw materials. It is clear that sustainability, and in particular FSC certification, has become a reference point for producers, retailers, and consumers. An essential element for anyone entering the European and world furniture markets.”

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. 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 interviews with Alexia Schrott and/or Jeremy Harrison please contact media@fsc.org