SFI announces new forest management standard
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), which has certified more than 180 million of acres in North America, has released an updated version of its certification standard.
The new SFI 2010-2014 Standard came about after an 18-month public review process and includes updated and expanded principles, objectives and performance indicators.
The SFI certification is widely used in Oregon, along with the Forest Stewardship Council certification.
The SFI's stated goals for the change include:
- Improve conservation of biodiversity in North America and offshore, and address emerging issues such as climate change and bioenergy.
- Strengthen unique SFI fiber sourcing requirements, which broaden the practice of sustainable forestry in North America and avoid unwanted offshore sources.
- Complement SFI activities aimed at avoiding controversial or illegal offshore fiber sources, and embrace Lacey Act amendments to prevent illegal logging.
- Expand requirements for logger training and support for trained loggers and certified logger programs. Since 1995, more than 117,000 loggers have received training through SFI-supported programs.
Read the SFI's announcement, the SFI president's blog post about the new standard, and the report on the changes from GreenBiz.
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