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.

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.

Brian Dumaine is going to be the keynote speaker at our conference this year in Nashville. He’s the global editor of FORTUNE magazine but also directs FORTUNE’s green technology and environmental policy stories. So we’re in for a thought-provoking talk. In fact, I heard Brian speak earlier this year at FORTUNE’s Brainstorm Green, where he moderated a session on maintaining green business in challenging economic times. I found that his views on how to simultaneously do the right thing for the environment and business were very enlightening. He is also the author of the newly published The Plot to Save the Planet: How Visionary Entrepreneurs and Corporate Titans Are Creating Real Solutions To Global Warming. Recently, I had the chance to ask him about his views on the green economy and his thinking on breakthrough green technologies and how it relates to sustainable forestry.

Click on the play button below to listen to our discussion.

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We held our Annual Conference last month in Minneapolis. In the year since I attended my first SFI conference as president and CEO, the SFI community has continued their hard work and achieved unparalleled growth. From the conference room to networking events and awards luncheons, the energy and enthusiasm about SFI and its momentum was obvious.

Attendance was excellent and we had a vibrant exchange of ideas and information on forest certification, illegal logging, carbon markets and new research on the public and industry views of eco-labels. A highlight was the launch of SFI’s new on-product label, which provides clear and concise information.

We had almost 200 delegates at the conference, including representatives from the print, packaging and solid wood supply chain; SFI-certified organizations; loggers; academics; and conservation groups. We took in a lot of information-packed and thought-provoking presentations, including the presentation and video by our Minnesota SFI implementation committee and their project with Habitat for Humanity that left us all a little misty-eyed. You can access all of the presentations here.

The entire SFI team knows that our success is built on the success and leadership shown by SFI participants and certificate holders. That’s why I was especially pleased to recognize the contributions of a number of individuals and organizations involved with SFI. I presented awards to Forest Capital Partners LLC, Harden Furniture Inc., JELD-WEN Windows and Doors, the Minnesota SFI Implementation Committee, National Envelope, Rayonier Inc., Sierra Pacific Industries and Smead Manufacturing Company. We’ve seen media pick up on some of the awards – here is a story about Harden Furniture, which received our President’s Award. Thanks again to our Minnesota SFI implementation committee for being such terrific hosts!