Sustainable forestry initiative celebrates record growth

At its annual convention, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI, Inc.) celebrated a year in which it achieved full independence and also welcomed a new president, Kathy Abusow, who pledged to keep the program and its successes growing. 

The SFI program is a comprehensive sustainable forestry certification system that encompasses more than 135 million certified acres across North America and includes 216 program participants, making it one of the largest forest certification programs in the world. The SFI program offers a labeling system for program participants to use to indicate that their products are independently, third-part certified demonstrating that the product comes from a well-managed forest. 

‘The market demand for certified products is growing worldwide in response to a growing number of consumers who want to make product choices that are best for the environment,’ said Abusow. ‘The market has clearly demonstrated a growing preference for certified products and as the only North America-wide standard, SFI has the supply to meet this new demand.’

Among SFI's notable achievements this past year:

• SFI became fully independent, with a three-chamber board with equal representation given to the conservation, social and economic sectors

• The number of chain of custody certificates grew by 90 percent and since July 1st, alone, SFI has 160 new chain-of-custody certified facilities

• SFI has also grown in international recognition with nations around the globe like the United Kingdom recognizing SFI as providing customers with the assurance that the SFI forests products they buy, such as paper and wood, come from legal and sustainable sources

‘SFI has worked hard over the past year to demonstrate the rigor of its standard and the ability to meet the supply needs of the market,’ said  John A. Luke, Jr., chair of the SFI Board and chairman and CEO of MeadWestvaco Corporation. ‘The market has responded with global recognition and acceptance of SFI certified products and I believe this will continue to grow.’