and as such the FSC must develop appropriate domestic governance to reflect this. Structure and governance FSC is an international membership organization with a governance structure based on participation, democracy, equity and transparency. It is a platform for forest owners, timber industries, social groups and environmental organizations to come together to find solutions to improve forest management practices. It is an example of a product-oriented multistakeholder governance group. It is governed by its members, who join either as individuals or as representatives of organizations; they come from diverse backgrounds including environmental NGOs, the timber trade, community forest groups and forest certification organizations. Members apply to join one of three chambers – environmental, social and economic; each chamber is divided into northern and southern sub-chambers and votes are weighted to ensure that north and south each have 50%; this system is designed to ensure that influence is shared equally between different interest groups, without having to limit the number of members. FSC has three levels of decision making bodies: The General Assembly, the Board of Directors and the Executive Director. The General Assembly, which takes place every three years, is made up of the three membership chambers and is the highest decision-making body in FSC. The most recent General Assembly took place in 2014. Every member has the right to attend, formulate and submit motions, and vote. The General Assembly represents an opportunity for everybody to share, learn, establish new alliances and exchange and explore business opportunities to create a better future of the forests. The FSC Board of Directors is accountable to the FSC members. It is made up of nine elected individuals who are FSC members and advocates. One member of the Board of Directors is elected from each sub-chamber of the General Assembly. The Executive Director runs FSC on a day-to-day basis with the support of a multi-cultural professional team at the FSC International Center. He or she is accountable to the FSC Board of Directors. While the FSC International Center is based in Bonn, Germany, it has a decentralized network of FSC Network Partners that promote responsible forest management on behalf of FSC. FSC Network Partners include FSC National Offices, FSC National Representatives and FSC National Focal Points. Kim Carstensen has been the Director General of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) since October 2012. Mr. Carstensen is a recognized global leader. Standards, certification and accreditation Standards development