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Kota Kinabalu: Sustainability in forest plantation management must continue beyond the lifespan of any certification, with the real measure of responsible forestry lying in the capability built into daily operations, according to Forrest Solutions Sustainability and Compliance Manager Wilvia Olivia (pic).
Drawing from more than a decade of experience in forestry, Wilvia said certification provides an important external benchmark but a certificate alone does not make a plantation sustainable.
“Certification is important, it gives you an external benchmark, discipline and recognition, but certificate itself does not make a plantation sustainable, good management does,” Wilvia said during the Borneo Forestry Cooperative (BFC) Conference 2026 at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC), here, recently.
Drawing from her organisation’s experience at Durang Saga, Wilvia said the plantation voluntarily withdrew from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in 2025 following changes in policy and eligibility.
However, the loss of certification did not mean the loss of its ability to maintain sustainability practices.
“We lost the certificate, but we did not lose the capability,” she said, adding that the organisation continued training workers, managing biodiversity, engaging communities and maintaining compliance.
“The certificate is recognition. The capability is what keeps the standards alive,” She said.
Wilvia said one key lesson was the need to bring contractors into the sustainability system through contractual requirements, training and regular engagement, rather than simply expecting them to comply with a set of standards.
She also stressed the need to move from “audit-driven management” to “management-driven sustainability”.
Companies may prepare documents and address audit findings, she said, but this does not necessarily reflect what happens during normal operations when no auditor is present.
Sustainability should instead be integrated into planning, risk assessment, implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement.
Wilvia also highlighted the importance of sustained engagement with surrounding communities, saying relationships should be built before problems arise.
This was also important for conservation and fire prevention, which she said cannot stop at plantation boundaries and require cooperation with communities and other stakeholders.
She said certification requirements and standards may change, but sustainability must remain part of everyday operations.
“Certification is a management tool and, most importantly, collaboration is essential,” she said.