We just launched our 2012 Request for Proposals for the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program, which supports research and outreach to advance responsible forestry. This year we are looking for projects that will strengthen the role of SFI certification in protecting water resources and helping resource managers respond to climate change.

SFI Inc. has invested more than $1.1 million in conservation grants since 2010 – and the amazing response to each of the RFPs shows the value of the program. Unfortunately our success in the first two years means the 2012 budget is limited to $85,000 for new projects. That’s because a lot of the work we supported in 2010 and 2011 involved multi-year projects that are continuing this year – for example, Clemson University is helping South Carolina landowners improve wildlife habitat and Ducks Unlimited Canada is leading development of best practices for forestry roads that protect boreal wetlands.

In addition to our conservation grants, we will invest $35,000 in community grants this year – it will go to identified projects aimed at encouraging young people to get involved in forestry and natural resource activities and careers.

The SFI conservation grant program is such a fantastic way to bring together conservation groups, resource managers and government agencies to address topics of current importance — like water resources and climate change – and build knowledge that will help SFI program participants improve forest practices. More than 125 organizations are partners in the 24 projects we have funded to date, and their involvement is expected to leverage additional resources to achieve a total value of $4.2 million.

The deadline for 2012 applications is Wednesday, March 14, 2012 – the RFP and additional information is posted on the grant website or you can contact me.

The unit – Certified Wood Branches Out: Forest Certification’s Evolving Role in Green Building Rating Systems – is featured in the January-February 2012  issue of GreenSource Magazine, which is published by McGraw Hill and goes to 45,000 green design and construction professionals.

It reinforces the fact that the green building community is recognizing the value of all forest certification programs equally. This past fall alone, we had Governor Paul LePage’s executive order in Maine, and heard from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Education, and the International Green Construction Code – all recognizing SFI and other credible forest certification standards.

The CEU will be in the McGraw Hill Continuing Education Unit online library throughout 2012, and architects and builders can earn continuing education credits through the American Institute of Architects by reading the article and taking an online test.

Building materials have such a huge impact on the environment, and wood from responsibly managed forests is such a great choice in new construction or renovations. We encourage you to help get the CEU into the hands of builders, architects, designers, and specifiers so they can see that third-party forest certification standards like SFI offer a proof point that the forest has been managed for multiple values.

Read the full CEU here.

When I joined SFI Inc. last month, I knew I would have a chance to work with many partners who share my interest in sustainable forest management and third-party forest certification.

Last week, I learned just how much these partnerships can achieve. The second phase of an innovative pilot project in Maine, involving Time Inc., Hearst Enterprises, National Geographic Society, Verso Paper Corp. and Sappi Fine Paper North America, led to 790,000 acres/320,000 hectares of additional forest lands being certified to the SFI Standard.

Now that’s worth celebrating. These corporate leaders understand we need more certified lands to address the growing market and customer interest in how resources are managed – and they are willing to act. We are interested in replicating this kind of work in other locations, which is why I am currently looking to identify corporate sponsors.

That’s what I have always liked about the SFI program – it has a strong foundation as an internationally recognized forest certification standard then builds on this by supporting responsible forest management locally. It draws on the strengths of diverse partners to improve forest practices across North America through landowner and community outreach, through science, through market awareness.

I’m a registered forester and I have been involved with the forest sector for 31 years so I’ve watched SFI from its inception. I’ve seen how it has helped to improve practices and advance knowledge over time. This view has been reinforced in the last month as I met with members of the vast SFI community – with SFI Implementation Committees, forestry associations and family forest owners; with suppliers and customers.

There is so much happening, and so much more we can do. Let me know if you have ideas about how we can grow certification or if you want to join with SFI and its many partners. Together, we can strengthen third-party certification and spread the word about the benefits of the SFI program – and build more successes like the Maine pilot.

Barry Graden recently joined SFI Inc. in the new position of Director, Southeast U.S. Community Outreach. He will build on the program’s community activities to promote and strengthen forest certification throughout the United States, with emphasis on the south. His office is in Greenville, SC, and he can be reached by email or telephone at 864-451-7958.

The Maine executive order says: “The design, construction, operation and maintenance of any new or expanded state building shall incorporate ‘Green Building’ standards that give certification credits equally to forest products grown, manufactured, and certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard, Forest Stewardship Council, American Tree Farm System, and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification systems.”

The reason is straightforward – Governor LePage believes that by supporting the full range of forest certification programs, Maine is advancing the state’s forest industry and helping its forest landowners compete in local, national and international markets. Seven million acres/2.8 million hectares of Maine forests are certified to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard.

SFI issued a news release that helps connect the dots by pointing out how the executive order supports rating tools such as ANSI/GBI 01-2010: Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings (built on Green Globes U.S.) and the National Green Building Standard that give equal credit to products derived from all credible forest certification standards. In our opinion, rating tools like the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED rating tools that do not recognize forest certification standards equally would not meet the requirements of this executive order.

This could be a powerful incentive for the USGBC to level the playing field. Right now, the LEED rating tools only give credit for products certified to the Forest Stewardship Council. Three-quarters of certified lands in North America – a total of 370 million acres/150 million hectares – are certified to SFI, ATFS and CSA, and are not recognized.

And the timing could not be better. The 2012 version of the LEED rating tools is currently under development, and a wide range of organizations are recognizing all forest certification standards. Leaders from across North America – including 100 Members of Congress and Governors – have called on USGBC to open up the LEED rating tool, but Maine is the first jurisdiction to take significant action.

In June, the USGBC released Pilot Credit 43 which recognizes all forest certification standards and gives a credit to them equally. However, this credit is limited to non-structural materials like windows, doors, floors and furniture. Builders, architects and others who appreciate the value of recognizing multiple forest certification standards are encouraged to post comments about Pilot Credit 43 on the LEED user site, and recommend that USGBC open up this credit to structural materials as well.

It demonstrates how we are growing on the ground – 195 million acres/79 million hectares certified to date – and how we are being increasingly recognized by leading agencies around the world.

Check it out. You’ll see that this fall alone, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Education and the International Green Construction Code all recognized SFI and other credible certification standards. On top of this, PEFC International members re-endorsed our forest standard. You’ll find many other statements in our fact sheet SFI: What Others are Saying.

Even the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is starting to look at things differently. LEED Pilot Credit 43 for non-structural materials currently gives equal credit to all forest certification standards including SFI. And in the LEED for Homes draft 2012 language, the USGBC has removed the FSC credit so SFI program participants have a level playing field. In a recent article, green building writer John Wagner asks if Pilot Credit 43 might open the door to LEED credits for SFI certification. And don’t forget to post a comment to let the USGBC know Pilot Credit 43 is on the right track!

Of course, this recognition would not be possible if it were not for the efforts of hundreds of SFI program participants across North America and the countless number of partners working with us and our SFI Implementation Committees to extend the reach of SFI certification so we can build knowledge and improve forest practices on certified and uncertified lands alike.

Everyone who supports forest certification and the SFI program should take a bow. It’s an honor to work with you, and such a pleasure to see the concrete results of our efforts.