2Sustain

The 2009 Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Annual Conference was held in Nashville last week on September 23 and 24.

At the conference, several organizations and individuals were recognized for their achievements in sustainable forestry. For example:

• Lawrence (Larry) A. Selzer, President and CEO of The Conservation Fund, won the first Dr. Sharon Haines Memorial Award for Innovation and Leadership in Sustainability for his outstanding leadership in bringing together diverse groups to promote responsible forest management.

• Maine won the 11th annual SFI Implementation Committee achievement award for its community outreach and activities to support responsible forest management.

• International Forest Products Ltd. (Interfor) received an SFI Conservation Leadership Award for a partnership with Aboriginal people along British Columbia’s Pacific Coast that will ensure a suitable supply of monumental cedar trees to meet long-term cultural needs.

• Crown Pine Timber LP received an SFI Conservation Leadership Award for Biodiversity Research for conservation partnerships with organizations such as the Nature Conservancy of Texas and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that will protect and restore longleaf pine woodlands in east Texas.

• Georgia-Pacific Corporation received an SFI President’s award for its outstanding efforts in increasing understanding of the SFI fiber sourcing program and how it supports family forest owners across North America.

• Irving Consumer Products received an SFI President’s award for consumer education activities, including a partnership with Tree Canada that resulted in thousands of trees being planted across Canada.

The independent SFI program supports responsible forest management, and last week the group reported that the amount of land certified to the SFI program in North America is now 178 million acres (72 million hectares)—that’s an increase of 19% over September 2008. The SFI program has more than 700 chain-of-custody certificates at about 1,600 locations, and 62 fiber sourcing certificates. According to a press release, the 2008-2009 UNECE/FAO Forest Products Annual Market Review found that chain-of-custody certification has grown rapidly in some regions in 2008 and that, in terms of numbers, the SFI program had the most significant increase.

Delegates at the conference also received a preview of the draft revised SFI 2010-2014 Standard, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2010. The SFI Standard addresses key environmental, social, and economic forest values, such as water quality, biodiversity, harvesting, and regeneration.

Every five years, the SFI Standard is reviewed through an open public process. Over the past year, more than 2,000 individuals and organizations were invited to comment on the the draft SFI 2010-2014 Standard. Public advisories were issued at every stage, and more than 300 comments were received. Revisions include adding emphasis on the importance of avoiding controversial or illegal fiber sources, strengthening landowner outreach and logger training programs, and better aligning principles with international criteria and indicators.

It is becoming increasingly important for companies to recognize their forest footprint. Unfortunately, though, most companies have little knowledge about the origins of the raw materials used in their supply chains. SFI is working to change all that. After all, supply chains have an impact on forests –and continued deforestation is sure to have an impact on future earnings.