It’s fitting that the themes for our 15th Annual Conference, is Power of Partnerships.  The world of responsible forestry and certification is so immense there is not a lot one organization can do on its own. The conference is set to explore the many ways collaboration leads to improved forest management, education & outreach efforts and implementation of the SFI Standard.

If you take a look at our conference agenda you will see we have lined up local and international speakers who will talk about partnerships yielding benefits for the forest products marketplace, communities, First Nations, and government agencies throughout North America and globally. Keynote speaker Linda Coady, Distinguished Fellow, University of British Columbia and Vice-President of Sustainability, Vancouver Olympics Organizing Committee will talk about Certification, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability – The Next Generation.  We’ll also be making some exciting announcements.

We will be posting video from conference speakers as well as pictures from the event on our Annual Conference webpage – so check it out if you are not able to join us in Vancouver and take part virtually.

Nadine Block, who focuses on Government Outreach for SFI, gives an overview of the Hill Briefings held in mid-June.

Last month SFI participated in briefings on Capitol Hill, and a remarkable panel helped bring awareness to forest certification, wood as an ideal building material, and the importance of opening LEED to all credible forest certification programs. The briefing was a part of High-Performance Building Week, a perfect opportunity to talk about issues surrounding wood and green building.

Briefing panelists included 2009 National Tree Farmers of the Year Earl and Wanda Barrs, CEO of the Society of American Foresters Michael Goergen, President of the National Association of State Foresters Steven Koehn and union representative Bill Street.

Several themes emerged during the briefings:

Some of our panelists recorded a few thoughts I thought would be interesting to share:

Earl Barrs, Gully Branch Tree Farm, 2009 National Tree Farmer of the Year

“One reason we have forest land in Georgia is because we’ve always had good markets, and it’s important we continue to have good markets … We’re doing all the conservation environmental stewardship and we’re doing all the things that make a forest sustainable.”

Wanda Barrs, Gully Branch Tree Farm, 2009 National Tree Farmer of the Year

“If we don’t have healthy markets, then the likelihood of our family farm surviving the next generation transfer is highly unlikely. The quality of life and conservation values – air quality, clean water, recreation, wildlife, recreation – can be lost if there are no markets.”

Michael Goergen, CEO of Society of American Foresters

“There are many different forest certification systems, and the value of having these certification systems is they improve each other … They’re pushing each other to improve their standards all the time. They’re using better science. They’re getting better information, and they’re improving forest management on the ground.”

Hear more of what Earl, Wanda and Michael had to say on SFI’s YouTube channel.

We feel energized from the feedback and interest we got on the Hill, and we plan to continue outreach to key officials. You can help too! Urge the USGBC to open its LEED rating system. Show support for increased certification by signing our petition, as well as passing along our green building video to friends and family.

You may have seen recent coverage in Canadian Wood Products and the LBM Journal that point to reasons as to why the US Green Building Council should open the LEED rating system. As the single largest forest certification standard in the world, SFI is committed to promoting responsible forest management in North America and responsible fiber sourcing worldwide. We think opening LEED is a crucial step in advancing responsible forestry and strengthening green building in the U.S. and Canada.

SFI Canadian Wood Products Editor Bill Tice states, “The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) is taking a leadership role and has been the most outspoken when it comes to raising awareness that the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system needs to recognize all credible certification programs.” He also points out that we’re not alone, listing significant support from Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, National Association of State Foresters President Steven Koehn, Mother Nature Network Director of Environmental Affairs Chuck Leavell and Society of American Foresters President Michael Goergen, among others.

In the LBM Journal article titled “SFI vs. FSC”, John Wagner brings up another valid point in regards to inclusivity. “Does the freezing out of SFI (and other standards) foster greener, more sustainably harvested lumber and wood fiber? No, it doesn’t.” At SFI, we believe that in order to better promote and increase green building projects, as well as benefit the North American economy, LEED must open their standard to all credible forest certification standards.

I want to thank you for your continued efforts dedicated to advancing the USGBC’s policy to one that recognizes multiple forest certification standards including SFI. With changes to LEED being decided in coming weeks, we encourage you to voice support now more than ever. Circulate articles like those previously mentioned to those who support green building and the forestry community. Encourage friends and colleagues to sign the petition if they haven’t already. As we engage in the USGBC process, we want to ensure we do everything we can to make sure USGBC voters and the general public have accurate information about our program.

As I’ve said before, making the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System more inclusive would be of value for green building and the North American economy. SFI wants the USGBC to create fair science-based benchmarks that will open up the credit to ALL credible forest certification standards used in North America.

FSC and SFI share common goals and have support from credible forestry community experts, such as the National Association of State Foresters and the Society of American Foresters.  We recently produced a comparison of the two organizations to highlight similarities and explore the differences. The truth is, SFI promotes inclusive recognition of all credible forest certification standards.  Roger Dziengeleski, senior forester for Finch Paper and Vice President of the National Society of American Foresters, sums it up well in his blog post. Here’s an excerpt:

What’s better when it comes to responsible forestry certifications — FSC or SFI?

That’s like asking: What’s better, an apple or an orange?  Both are good for you, but they bring completely different strengths and weaknesses to the table.  Having access to both fruits results in a healthy body. Having access to both FSC and SFI makes for an overall healthier forest resource.

… Both programs have done an outstanding job of helping forest owners “prove” their compliance with responsible forestry publicly by establishing a list of criteria they must meet, and establishing processes through which to document their performance and subject it to third-party review by independent experts. The programs’ auditors also help forest owners improve their management practices by making recommendations from their years of experience, and pointing out possible improvements that a landowner can sometimes overlook in the course of his day-to-day activities.

Most Finch paper is SFI and FSC-certified. There are many other companies also looking to make wood products from responsibly managed forests. Reliable certification standards—like SFI, FSC and other certification standards—let companies and consumers know their wood and wood products are coming from responsible sources. FSC and SFI are both working toward advancements in responsible forestry—how can that be a bad thing?