Walt Disney Company, a long-time member of Fortune 500, is the latest corporate leader to show its support for third-party forest certification and embrace all credible certification programs, including SFI.

In its 2010 Corporate Citizenship Report, released last week, the company says by the end of this year, all the paper and packaging in products sold to consumers in North America will be from sustainable sources – which means recycled content, forests certified to standards such as SFI, or known sources.

This is a welcome boost for third-party certification. Disney is #57 of the Fortune 500 list, and in the United States alone, Disney Publishing produces 50 million books and 30 million magazines annually.

It also shows Disney has done its homework. When just 10 percent of the world’s forests are certified, the best way to meet to address the environmental and social impacts of its products is by recognizing the value of all credible certification programs – including SFI, the Canadian Standards Association, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and the Forest Stewardship Council. 

“ForestEthics continues to peddle pulp fiction about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, repeating the same old inaccurate and misleading information.  With several credible forest certification standards in the marketplace, there are many paths to the same goals.  While we respect businesses making choices, the real damage from ForestEthics’ campaign is the uneven playing field that it creates for well-managed domestic forest practices and products.  ForestEthics pushes organizations to buy FSC only, but the vast majority of FSC’s supply is offshore.  Global trade in forest products is fine, but domestic products managed to high standards shouldn’t be shut out due to misinformation campaigns and pressure tactics.  That can hurt our forest communities and cost jobs.”

Background
SFI is strong and growing – more and more companies accept and recognize SFI and many have inclusive policies, recognizing all credible standards. SFI is the largest single forest certification standard in the world and last year, we experienced record growth in chain of custody certificates and locations and label use approvals.

We will stand up for SFI’s name, the integrity of our program, our audit requirements, and our board. We are proud of the SFI community’s commitment and progress in responsible forestry, our growth and recognition in the marketplace, our on-the ground-work in conservation, and our tangible work in communities across North America. ForestEthics’ malicious campaigns will not deter us from that focus.

For more information, see SFI’s “Setting the Record Straight” page.

Contact:
Kathy Abusow, President & CEO
Kathy.Abusow@sfiprogram.org
(613) 722-8734

Nadine Block, Senior Director of Government Outreach, discusses SFI’s role in GOVgreen, a conference held in Washington, DC November 9-10.

Earlier this week I was at the first annual GOVgreen conference and had the privilege of speaking with professionals working in various parts of the government, many who have jobs relating to implementing President Obama’s Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental Energy and Economic Performance. These professionals are looking for solutions that not only comply with the order and help them achieve their sustainability goals, but are a good fit for their department’s specific purchasing, building, and policy needs.

Efficient procurement decisions are as simple as purchasing SFI-labeled cups like the ones used by conference participants, including by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during his keynote address at GOVgreen. This provides an excellent example of consumer products that are sourced responsibly and demonstrates how simple purchasing decisions can make a difference. Our presence at the conference included sponsoring water stations, where SFI-labeled ecotainers were used, and staffing an exhibit where we interacted with dozens of conference participants. Additionally, I participated in a panel discussion about “Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Programs,” along with Christine Chase, Certification Manager at Green Seal and Graziella Siciliano, Senior Program Associate at the Alliance to Save Energy. These forums gave me an opportunity to show how forest certification works with recycling for well-rounded procurement policies. I was also able to demonstrate how SFI certification supports North American jobs and communities and how using forest products from responsibly managed forests helps keeps forests as forests. When organizations demand responsible wood and paper products, they are giving our domestic forest landowners markets for their products and incentives to continue to responsibly manage their forests. Forest certification like SFI is a necessary proof point of responsible behavior.

Thanks to all who were able to stop by the SFI booth or my presentations during the show, and we look forward to working with government organizations in finding preferred options and practices around using forest certified products.

Nadine Block, SFI Senior Director of Government Outreach, talks about upcoming activities planned for GRAPH EXPO 2010 in Chicago.

We’re just two days away from GRAPH EXPO, and we couldn’t be more energized about the events we have planned at the show! To start things off, I will be giving introductory remarks at the luncheon on Sunday, October 3. Government Printing Office Public Printer Bob Tapella and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Transition for the U.S. Postal Service Linda Kingsley will be keynoting the luncheon.

Both the GPO and USPS are concerned with several aspects in regards to sustainability. At SFI, we support stances like these. We think it’s important to start with paper and forest products that are sourced wisely. Efforts such as recycling, among others, work with forest certification to promote responsibility throughout the lifecycle of a product. I was lucky enough to sit down with Bob and Linda to get a preview of their speeches relating to the changing role of print and mail in the digital age, as well as thoughts on sustainability. Take a look at some of their thoughts in these videos:

How the GPO is Becoming a Model for the Print Industry’s Digital Future

Print, Mail and the Postal Service: A Sustainable Platform for Partnerships and Growth

Adding to SFI’s activities at GRAPH EXPO, Jason Metnick, Senior Director, Market Access & Product Labeling will be giving two presentations, which will help print professionals learn more about the SFI program. If you’ll be in Chicago at GRAPH EXPO, we’d love for you to attend! As an added bonus, we’ll be giving away a $100 Visa gift card on-site at each presentation.

• October 4, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., Room S403ab “Chain of Custody Certification: Good for Your Business and Good for Our Forests” — Learn how SFI Chain of Custody certification can help printers meet and even generate client demand for responsibly-sourced paper options. We’ll explore how to get certified as well as market trends in certification, including the increasing popularity of multiple certification to FSC, PEFC and SFI chain of custody standards.
• October 5, 2 -2:30 p.m., GREENspace Theater - “Power of Partnerships” — Collaboration and label use among a variety of sectors has ability to affect change and promote responsible forestry. Learn how forest certification label use can drive corporate responsibility, consumer awareness and above all, benefit forests.

We’ll be at Booth #3337 in GREENspace—remember to get your badge scanned for a chance to win an iPad! If you’re not able to be in Chicago, follow the action on Twitter.

One of my favorite parts of the SFI conference is our awards luncheon. The conference lets us reflect on all of our shared successes from the last year – and the awards lunch lets us recognize some of the outstanding achievements of our program participants and partners.

This year I presented three awards, all showing the power of partnership in action. Winners each received a carving with symbols of Aboriginal culture created by Curtis Wilson (Muliszas), a First Nations artist and carver from northern Vancouver Island. I was pleased that Curtis was at our conference so delegates had a chance to appreciate more of his amazing work. In fact, I bought a piece for myself – it’s already hanging on my wall.

The SFI President’s Award went to five companies – Time Inc., Hearst Corporation, Verso Paper Corp., Sappi Fine Paper North America and NewPage Corporation – that acted on their commitment to responsible sourcing. They started a pilot project, in partnership with SFI Inc. and the American Tree Farm System, to make third-party forest certification more efficient and accessible to small- and medium-sized landowners and, as a result, increased the amount of certified land in Maine. It made sense to conduct the pilot in Maine because of the state’s strong commitment to all forest certification standards.

Port Blakely Tree Farms received a Conservation Leadership Award for Biodiversity Research for its role in a cooperative project to reintroduce endangered Oregon spotted frogs to their historic range in Washington state. The project is led by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and also involves the Washington Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Army, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Oregon Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo, University of Washington, The Evergreen State College, Washington Department of Transportation and The Nature Conservancy of Washington.

Port Blakely’s Director of Wildlife and Fisheries, Blake Murden, accepted the award.

Alabama won the 12th SFI Implementation Committee Achievement Award for activities such as qualified logging professional training and outreach to landowners, legislators and educators. SFI Implementation Committees are such an important part of our program, and this kind of work shows why. They bring together loggers, teachers, biologists and public officials who meet the needs of communities across the United States and Canada.

This is the second time Alabama has won the achievement award. Chair Mike Griggs of International Paper, Vice-Chair Sam Hopkins of the Westervelt Company and Committee Coordinator Chris Erwin of the Alabama Forestry Association accepted it on behalf of all committee members, who include SFI program participants, the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University and The Nature Conservancy.