ABOUT SFI
PROGRAM Overview
COMMITTED TO GROWTH
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program is a comprehensive system of principles, objectives and performance measures developed by professional foresters, conservationists and scientists, among others that combines the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the long-term protection of wildlife, plants, soil and water quality.
The SFI program was developed in 1994 to ensure North America's valuable forests were protected and to document the commitment of forest products industry members to keep our forests healthy and to practice the highest level of sustainable forestry. Currently, over 250 million acres of forestland in North America have been third-party audited to the SFI standard, making the SFI program among the world's largest sustainable forestry programs.
The SFI Standard includes
13
PRINCIPLES
15
OBJECTIVES
31
BENCHMARKS
101
Indicators
Which all address economic, environmental, cultural, and legal aspects,
with a focus on continuous sustainable forest management improvement.
SFI promotes healthy, resilient forests through sustainable practices ensuring water quality, soil health, and wildlife preservation, while providing essential wood and paper products. The program integrates responsible environmental and business practices to benefit landowners, shareholders, customers, and other forest users.
SFI offers a framework for foresters, landowners, loggers, and producers to meet society’s demand for responsibly sourced products and scientifically sound forest management, verified by third-party audits.
"The Sustainable Forestry Initiative will have terrific long-term payoffs for improved forest conservation in the United States"
James W. Giltmier
Senior Fellow, Pinchot Institute for Conservation