West Virginia Forestry Association

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is a commitment by members of the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) to practice a land stewardship ethic which combines the reforestation, growing, managing, and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil and water quality.

MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN FOREST & PAPER ASSOCIATION (AF&PA) ushered in a new era of forest management with the adoption of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program. While this action was revolutionary in scope, it was built on the individual practices of many in the forest and paper industry who have long recognized the critical need to promote sustainable forestry on all forestlands. The SFI program was adopted in 1994 and, as a testament to the association’s strong commitment to the principles of sustainable forestry, participation in the SFI program is a condition of membership for AF&PA. Since the program’s inception, 16 companies have been expelled from AF&PA membership for failure to comply.

The sustainable Forestry Initiative program is a comprehensive system of principles, objectives and performance measures that integrates the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil and water quality. Simply stated, it’s working with nature to ensure the future of our forests for our children and grandchildren. And it’s based on the premise that responsible environmental practices and sound business practices can be integrated to the benefit of landowners, shareholders, customers and the people they serve.

Professional foresters, conservationists, scientists, landowners and other stakeholders developed the SFI program. These men and women are inspired by the concept of sustainability that evolved from the 1987 report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, and was subsequently adopted by the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

The SFI Standard (SFIS) spells out the requirements of compliance with the program. SFI program participants support sustainable forestry practices on the lands they manage and actively promote such practices on other forestlands. This commitment to sustainable forestry stems from the participants’ convictions that forest landowners have a critical stewardship responsibility to current and future generations.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative program provides a means for foresters, landowners, loggers and wood and paper producers to operate an economically viable industry while satisfying the growing demand for environmental responsibility.

The SFI program reflects the market and social realities of the 21st century. In short, the SFI program means using smart science to achieve smart business results. In today’s competitive market, demonstrating that you are part of an environmentally responsible organization can be a decisive advantage.

The program also has an important education and outreach component geared toward all forest landowners and requires the public release of an annual progress report. To this end, the Objectives call on participants to:

Foster the practice of sustainable forestry on all forestlands.
Publicly report on their progress.
Provide opportunities for public outreach.

Associated with each of the Objectives are specific performance measures to gauge progress. These performance measurements enable participants to provide tangible proof of adherence to the SFI Standard and quantify results.

A distinguished group of 18 independent experts representing conservation, environmental, professional, academic, and public organizations comprise the Independent Expert Review Panel. The mission of the Expert Review Panel is to provide a framework to conduct an independent review of the SFI program and to ensure that the Annual Report fairly states the status of SFI program implementation. The volunteer Panel provides external oversight with their independent review of the current SFI program while seeking steady improvements in sustainable forestry practices. While some members of the panel do make field visits to member companies and observe their on-the-ground practices, it is not a charge of the panel to verify practices on the ground and the panel does not review individual company data.

The Sustainable Forestry Board (SFB) manages several components of the SFI program – the SFI Standard, SFI Verification Procedures, and SFI program compliance.

The SFB is constructed such that outside stakeholders comprise a majority. SFB members are selected to represent diverse interest groups including, but not limited to: environmental/conservation groups; public officials (state and federal agencies); professional/academic groups; logging professionals; industry; and non-industrial landowners.

The mission of the SFB is to continuously monitor and evaluate the effectives of the SFI Standard and Verification Procedures; to assure consistency of the SFI Standard and Verification Procedures; and to work with the AF&PA Board of Directors to monitor and resolve substantive non-compliance issues.

Market and public expectations regarding environmental stewardship continue to evolve. In response to these evolving expectations, the SFI Program added a Verification Process. Through SFI Verification, program participants and licensees may choose to apply a rigorous and internationally consistent verification approach to document and communicate their conformance to the SFI Standard.

Companies have the flexibility to conduct a self-verification; have a customer or another company verify conformance; or contract with an independent third-party to conduct the certification. Regardless of which approach is used, the process for conducting the audit must be uniform, and all auditors must meet rigorous educational and professional criteria.

In 1998, the SFI program was opened to companies, landowners, and organizations outside of AF&PA membership. AF&PA leadership initiated this move, recognizing that a partnership with diverse stakeholders will foster new and innovative means of accomplishing continuous improvement of forestry practices. The conservation Fund, a nationally respected conservation organization, became the first nonprofit organization in the U.S. to become an SFI licensee. The Conservation Fund enrolled three demonstration forests comprising 20,000 acres of working woodlands. St. Louis county, with 900,000 acres in Northern Minnesota, was the first public land agency to enroll in this award-winning program.

Additionally:

• Those involved in the program demonstrate leadership by working to broaden the practice of sustainable forestry.
• Those that participate demonstrate they are part of the solution to the conservation of America’s forestlands and the wildlife and biological diversity dependent on these lands.
• The praise, awards and recognition earned by the program have benefits that accrue to those who participate in the program.

The SFI program has received high praise from a variety of sources:

• Renew America/President’s Council for Sustainable Development, National Award for Sustainability in Forests and Rangeland 1999.
• 1998 Summit Award, from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the highest award in the ASAE’s Advance America Awards Program.
• 1997 Business Conservation Leadership award from the National Association of Conservation Districts.
• Recognized as a significant development in private sector efforts to improve the environment by the President’s Council on Sustainable Development in 1996.
• AF&PA was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation in 1996 at the 50th anniversary ceremonies of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The SFI program was specifically cited as a major reason for AF&PA receiving this award.

* Executive Order

• American Forests
• American Tree Farm System
• American Legislative Exchange Council
• Arkansas Wildlife Federation
• Association of Western Pulp and Paper workers, UBC
• The Conservation Fund
• Conservation Federation of Missouri
• Ducks Unlimited
• Forest Resources Association
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
• Longleaf Alliance
• Michigan United Conservation Clubs
• National Association of Conservation Districts
• National Association of Professional Forestry Schools and Colleges
• National Association of State Foresters
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• National Fisheries Institute
• National Wild Turkey Federation
• National Woodland Owners Association
• Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association
• PACE International Union
• Pulp and Paper Workers Resource Council
• Quality Deer Management Association
• Quail Unlimited
• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
• Ruffed Grouse Society
• Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
• Society of American Foresters
• South Carolina Wildlife Federation
• Southern Council of Industrial Workers, UBC
• USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
• Wildlife Habitat Council Wildlife Management Institute
• The Wildlife Society
• Tree Musketeers
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
• United Mine Workers of America
• Western Council of Industrial Workers, IBC
• Woodworkers District Lodge #1, IAM
• Woodworkers District Lodge #2, IAM

With increased scrutiny on environmental practices of the business community, and with the attentiveness to environmental issues in the marketplace, many are looking at the benefits of the SFI program. Whether it’s by joining AF&PA or becoming a licensee of the SFI program, organizations from across the country are reaping the benefits of the SFI program. In today’s environmentally sensitive world, many organizations are finding the SFI program helps them to “do good” by expanding the practice of sustainable forestry and “do well” by meeting their customer and their organization’s demands. Learn more about how your organization can benefit from participating in the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program by calling 202-463-2746.