| AFF | American Forest Foundation |
| AOX | Absorbable Organic Halogens |
| ATFS | American Tree Farm System |
| ATO | African Timber Organization |
| AZE | Alliance for Zero Extinction |
| BOD | Biological Oxygen Demand |
| CBD | Convention on Biological Diversity |
| CEPI | Confederation of European Paper Industries |
| CIFOR | Center for International Forestry Research |
| CITES | Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora |
| CO2 | Carbon Dioxide |
| CoC | Chain-of-Custody |
| COD | Chemical Oxygen Demand |
| CPET | Central Point of Expertise on Timber Procurement (UK) |
| CPI | Corruption Perception Index |
| CSA | Canadian Standards Association |
| ECF | Elemental Chlorine Free |
| EECF | Enhanced Elemental Chlorine Free |
| EMS | Environmental Management System |
| EPAT® | Environmental Paper Assessment Tool |
| EPE | European Partners for the Environment |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization |
| FCAG | Forest Certification Assessment Guide |
| FECV | Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value |
| FICAT | Forest Industry Carbon Assessment Tool |
| FLEG | Forest Law Enforcement and Governance |
| FLEGT | Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade |
| FPAC | Forest Products Association of Canada |
| FPIC | Free Prior and Informed Consent |
| FSC | Forest Stewardship Council |
| GBI | The Green Building Initiative |
| GFTN | Global Forest and Trade Network |
| GHG | Green House Gases |
| GMOs | Genetically Modified Organisms (also Genetically Modified – GM) |
| GPN | Green Purchasing Network |
| HCVF | High Conservation Value Forests |
| IFC | International Finance Corporation |
| IGPN | International Green Purchasing Network |
| IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
| IPF/IFF | Intergovernmental Panel on Forests/ Intergovernmental Forum on Forests |
| IPM | Integrated Pest Management |
| ISO | International Organization for Standardization |
| ITTO | International Tropical Timber Organization |
| IUCN | World Conservation Union, formerly International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| IUFRO | International Union of Forest Research Organizations |
| LCA | Life Cycle Assessment |
| LEED | Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design |
| LEI | Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia (Indonesian Ecolabeling Institute) |
| MTCC | Malaysian Timber Certification Council |
| NCASI | National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc. |
| NGO | Non-Governmental Organization |
| PEFC | Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes |
| PEOLG | Pan-European Operational Level Guidelines |
| QACC | Questionnaire for Assessing the Comprehensiveness of Certification Schemes |
| SFI, Inc. | Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc. |
| SFM | Sustainable Forest Management |
| SMS | Social Management System |
| TCF | Totally Chlorine Free |
| TFT | Tropical Forest Trust |
| TI | Transparency International |
| TTF | Timber Trade Federation |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme |
| VOCs | Volatile Organic Compounds |
| WB | World Bank |
| WBCSD | World Business Council for Sustainable Development |
| WCMC | World Conservation Monitoring Centre |
| WRI | World Resources Institute |
| WWF | World Wide Fund for Nature |