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The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) has gained international recognition by the PEFC Council, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes. An independent assessment showed that SFI complies with the international PEFC requirements for national forest certification systems. PEFC endorsed systems around the globe, including SFI, now account for more than 175 million hectares, an area larger than the combined forest area of all 25 member countries of the European Union.
About the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)®
The SFI Standard is a sustainable forest management program operated by the SFI Inc. SFI Inc. governed by an 18-member board of directors made up of three chambers with equal membership: environmental, social and economic. The diversity of the board members reflects the variety of interests in the forestry community.
SFI Program Participants have written policy to implement and achieve the following principles:
1) To practice sustainable forestry to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by practicing a land stewardship ethic that integrates reforestation and the managing, growing, nurturing and harvesting of trees for useful products and ecosystem services such as the conservation of soil, air and water quality, carbon, biological diversity, wildlife and aquatic habitats, recreation, and aesthetics.
2) To provide for regeneration after harvest and maintain the productive capacity of the forest land base, and to protect and maintain long-term forest and soil productivity. In addition, to protect forests from economically or environmentally undesirable levels of wildfire, pests, diseases, invasive exotic plants and animals and other damaging agents and thus maintain and improve long-term forest health and productivity.
3) To protect water bodies and riparian zones, and to conform with best management practices to protect water quality.
4) To manage forests in ways that protect and promote biological diversity, including animal and plant species, wildlife habitats, and ecological or natural community types.
5) To manage the visual impacts of forest operations, and to provide recreational opportunities for the public.
6) To manage forests and lands of special significance (ecologically, geologically or culturally important) in a manner that protects their integrity and takes into account their unique qualities.
7) To use and promote among other forest landowners sustainable forestry practices that are both scientifically credible and economically, environmentally and socially responsible.
8) To avoid wood fibre from illegally logged forests when procuring fibre outside of North America, and to avoid sourcing fibre from countries without effective social laws.
9) To comply with applicable federal, provincial, state, and local forestry and related environmental laws, statutes, and regulations.
10) To support advances in sustainable forest management through forestry research, science and technology.
11) To improve the practice of sustainable forestry through training and education programs.
12) To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry on public lands through community involvement.
13) To broaden the understanding of forest certification to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard by documenting certification audits and making the findings publicly available.
14) To continually improve the practice of forest management, and to monitor, measure and report performance in achieving the commitment to sustainable forestry.
To assess conformance with the standards, SFI certified companies hire independent auditors, who verify that the companies’ forest practices and environmental management system meet the requirements of the certification system. The audit verification is an ongoing process that ensures continuing conformance with the sustainable forest management standards.