Since the early 1990s forest certification processes have been initiated by a range of interest groups from the environmental, social and economic sectors in many countries and regions, both in the North and the South.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a non-governmental organisation founded in 1993, has established an international accreditation programme under which independent certification bodies can operate. FSC has developed globally applicable principles and criteria for responsible forest management. It encourages national working groups to adapt these to local conditions. FSC administers a product label. In June 2004, 44 million hectares of forest in 62 countries had been certified according to FSC principles and criteria.

Several other certification programmes have been launched on a national and regional level since the foundation of FSC, such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) in North America (1995), the Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (LEI) in 1998, the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) in 1998, and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) in 1999.