A exploração das florestas nativas e das plantações florestais no Brasil tem um imenso potencial. No entanto, na Amazônia, a exploração das florestas nativas tem se dado predominantemente de forma predatória com um enorme desperdício dos recursos madeireiros e não madeireiros. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar a cadeia produtiva da madeira de espécie nativa em dois municípios do estado do Pará: Paragominas e Novo Progresso. Métodos: Inicialmente e no decorrer de todo trabalho, foi realizada extensa pesquisa bibliográfica e documental para se conhecer a realidade da exploração madeireira na Amazônia. Foram selecionados dois municípios com pólos madeireiros expressivos para realização do trabalho de campo e aprofundamento do conhecimento sobre a cadeia produtiva: um de exploração mais antiga e outro mais recente, para verificar diferenças no processo. O estudo teve características de exploratório, numa primeira fase, e descritivo, numa segunda etapa, quando se buscou descrever os fenômenos e estabelecer relações. Foram entrevistados representantes de empresas de diferentes tamanhos com enfoque na cadeia produtiva da madeira (extração, processamento primário e beneficiamento). Muitos entrevistados atuavam nas três atividades, mas a grande maioria apenas nas duas últimas. Resultados: A maior parte das empresas pesquisadas não detém plano de manejo florestal próprio, o que as torna vulneráveis em relação ao suprimento de madeira. Essa situação também não é um fator de estímulo ao manejo florestal sustentável. De modo geral, nos dois municípios, o parque industrial encontrado é antigo e com tecnologia defasada. Investimentos em equipamentos e treinamento têm sido baixos, o que resulta muitas vezes em qualidade insuficiente e produtos com baixo valor agregado. A geração de resíduos de madeira é elevada e sua destinação freqüentemente inadequada. Conclusões: Uma política de agregação de valor aos recursos naturais deveria incluir investimentos relevantes em capacitação e treinamento. A cadeia de base florestal pode desempenhar um papel importante na manutenção da floresta em pé, na geração de empregos e nas exportações da região. Além disso, a indústria de produtos da madeira consome relativamente pouca energia e pode na verdade gerar excedentes, dispensando os custosos investimentos em linhas de transmissão. No desenvolvimento sustentável dessa indústria, a certificação florestal independente pode assumir um papel relevante. / In Brazil, natural and plantation forests have a strong potential development. However in the Brazilian Amazon, natural forests have not been managed in a sustainable fashion leading to a substantial waste of both timber and other forest products. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the native wood production chain in two logging centers in the state of Pará: Paragominas and Novo Progresso. Methods: Before and during the works, there was an extensive bibliographical research to understand how the timber industry operates in the Amazon region. Field research was developed in two distinct logging frontiers: Paragominas, old (occupied for over 30 years) and Novo Progresso (occupied for less than 10 years) to get a more complete picture. Companies of different sizes were interviewed following the production chain approach (extraction, primary processing and finished wood products). Many of the interviewed companies were vertically integrated with operations in the three activities but most of them had operations only in the last two. Results: Most of the interviewed companies did not have their own supplies of round wood, purchasing from third parties becoming vulnerable to shortfalls in others management plans. Generally speaking in the two logging centers equipment is old and technology outdated. Low investments in equipment and training results frequently in insufficient quality and low value products. Wood residues are high and destination often inadequate. Conclusion: Value creation to natural resources should include relevant investments in developing capacity and providing training. The forest supply chain could have an important role in preserving the forest, in generating jobs and in developing exports. Further, the wood industry is energy efficient and actually may generate surpluses avoiding the high investments in transmission lines. In the sustainable development of the wood products industry, the independent forest certification may play a relevant role.

The North American forest industry has long been an important part of North America’s economy. The industry has traditionally been the only industrial demand on timberland creating a long established balance between the supply (timberland) and the demand (manufacturing). Recently the forest industry has been troubled due to the collapse of the solid wood products largest market, housing, and a global recession. These troubled times have lead many operation in the industry to curtail operations. Since the industry curtailed, high oil prices and increasing environmental concern have advocated the investment in renewable energy sources. As a renewable energy source, biomass holds great potential for satisfying a portion of our continental energy demands. This increased demand for timberland products could be very profitable to the timberland owners but also holds many concerns to the extent of additional supply that can be harvested from our timberlands. Further complicating the balance of supply and demand are the large global and domestic effects that are reducing the total amount of timberland and increasing the demand for the remaining timberlands. The supply and demand changes have the potential to make the forest industry evermore important part of the North American economy but care must be taken to not over extend our resources.

The aim of this diploma thesis was to analyze the current effects of FSC production on the Czech market. The analysis of certified products in the Czech Republic was performed from the perspective of consumers and companies. The first step was a short consumer survey, which was distributed among respondents in electronic and paper versions. The main objective of this research was to measure awareness of FSC logo and its effects in the consumer choice process. The second part of this research was dedicated to companies producing or selling certified furniture. The field research was conducted among selected stores situated in České Budějovice.

Face à un environnement incertain marqué par une instabilité sans cesse croissante, les entreprises s’efforcent de rechercher la performance à la fois globale et durable considérée désormais comme un levier non seulement de pérennité, mais aussi d’avantage concurrentiel primordial (Porter et Kramer, 2006; Crane et Matten, 2004). Ainsi, la responsabilité sociétale de l’entreprise (RSE) est perçue comme un thème fédérateur en sciences de gestion et de par sa dimension sociétale dans les sciences économiques et sociales prenant tout son sens dans le management opérationnel des entreprises. Considérée comme le prolongement de la prise en compte du développement durable (rapport Brundtland 1987) dans ses implications managériales, la RSE cristallise l’attention de nombreux chercheurs depuis plusieurs décennies, notamment dans sa dimension sociale, environnementale et normative (ISO 14000) depuis une vingtaine d’année et sociétale (ISO 26000) depuis les années 2000. Si la littérature foisonnante sur le concept de RSE reste en débat, force est de constater qu’elle traite très peu des mécanismes de construction des pratiques RSE et moins encore du rôle que les stakeholders jouent dans cette construction. Dans un tel contexte, prenant appui sur la stakeholder theory (Freeman, 1984; Oliver, 1991; Clarkson, 1995; Mitchell et al., 1997; Sethi, 1995; Rowley, 1997), l’analyse des données collectées suite à une investigation de huit mois auprès de six entreprises forestières au Cameroun, révèle d’une part que le modèle de Carroll (1979, 1991) de la RSE est contingent au contexte et que le comportement stratégique orienté RSE des entreprises du secteur de l’industrie forestière au Cameroun est fortement corrélé à la nationalité de l’entreprise. D’autre part, cette étude fait état de ce que la variable « champ d’activité » a un effet non déterminé sur le comportement stratégique adopté par les entreprises de ce secteur forestier. Enfin, cette recherche révèle également que la certification forestière FSC représente le gage d’un engagement volontaire en matière de RSE des entreprises d’exploitations forestières au Cameroun. La présente recherche ouvre la voie aux travaux futurs pour internaliser les pratiques de la RSE par les parties prenantes dans le management stratégique des entreprises les plus confrontées aux défis environnementaux. / In an uncertain environment that is also marked by a growing instability, firms try to seek a global and sustainable performance which is considered as a lever not only for longevity but also for competitive advantage (Porter and Kramer, 2006; Crane and Matten, 2004). Thus, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is perceived as a unifying topic in management science and, by its societal dimension, in the economic and social sciences. Considered as an extension to the consideration of sustainable development in its managerial implications (Brundtland report, 1987), CSR has been at the attention of a large number of researchers for several decades now, in particular for twenty years in its social, environmental and normative dimension (ISO 14000) and since the 2000’s in its societal nature.While the concept of CSR is still under debate in its rather large literature, it should also be noted that this literature is usually silent on the construction mechanisms of CSR practices and even more on the role that stakeholders play in this construction.In this context, and relying on stakeholder theory (Freeman, 1984; Oliver, 1991; Clarkson, 1995; Mitchell et al., 1997; Sethi, 1995; Rowley, 1997), the present analysis of the collected data from an eight-month-long in-depth investigation of six forestry firms in Cameroun yields several findings: First, the CSR model in Carroll (1979, 1991) is contingent to the context and the strategic CSR behaviour of the different firms in the forestry industry in Cameroun is strictly correlated to the nationality of these firms. Second, this study shows that the “field of action” variable has a non-significant effect on the strategic behaviour adopted by the firms in this forestry industry. Finally, this research also reveals that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification represents the deposit of a voluntary commitment in terms of CSR of the forestry exploitation firms in Cameroun. The present work also opens new lines for future research focussing on the internalisation of the CSR practices by the contracting parties in strategic management of the firms that are in direct confrontation to the environmental challenges.

Forest and product certification was initially promoted as a means of enhancing sustainable management of forests in the tropics. However after almost two decades, there is still very little evidence of certified timber products originating from tropical countries. A number of approaches have been suggested to enhance the growth of forest certification in the tropics. These approaches such as that of the Forest Stewardship Council, Global Forest Trade Network of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Sustainable Forest Initiative and various private sector initiatives have all failed to facilitate forest certification. Therefore to enhance the development of forest certification in Ghana, the research work amongst others, draws on experiences in certification from other sectors such as cocoa, fisheries, tourism and oil palm to develop a model for promoting forest certification in Ghana. The research work uses elements identified in the literature review in developing a questionnaire for the survey of timber firms in Ghana. The research work identified stakeholder consultations, legal framework, resource rights, and the regulation of the domestic market as key elements for promoting forest certification in Ghana. The research recommends a phased approach to promoting forest certification with the first phase being verification of legality that adopts the European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) initiative. The study identifies this approach not only as a means of reducing cost to the private sector in pursuing forest certification but a means of drawing on support measures to enhance the regulation of the domestic market; a key component for promoting forest certification. The report argues that it is only through a well regulated domestic market can tropical timber producing countries achieve sustainable forest management and hence forest certification. The domestic market is therefore seen as a strong means of promoting certification since it will be internalised in the producing countries. None of the research on certification has so far identified the domestic market as a key factor to promoting forest certification and the research work argues that the slow pace of certification has been the lack of demand for certified products on the domestic market. Developing the domestic market is therefore seen as a key policy instrument for promoting the uptake of forest certification in Ghana and the tropics in general.

This study intends to investigate how different demographic groups among individual forest owners in Sweden view issues related to sustainable forestry. The study also intends to investigate what different individual forest owners perceive as positive/negative aspects in terms of species protection and policy changes. It also investigates in what way individual forest owners' views and forestry relate to decided goals and what previous research defines as sustainable forestry. To investigate this, a survey has been conducted where the survey was distributed to individual forest owners around the country through various online communication channels such as social media and online forums. The survey resulted in a total of 226 respondents spread across most parts of the country. The results that emerged from the study shows demographic differences and similarities, where we for example can see that there is a greater proportion of women than men who believe that Swedish forestry is not sustainable today. At the same time, we can observe that the majority believe that it is sustainable within all demographic groups. Incidentally, we can see that there is a dividing line between authorities and the interests of individual forest owners. Views on sustainable forestry vary and many forest owners strive for less government intervention in their forestry and property rights are central. We see a willingness to compromise if the forest owner receive financial compensation, in terms of protected areas. We can also see goal conflicts between forest owners' views and uses and authorities' directives and goals.