Today the White House hosted the annual Easter Egg Roll and, for the third consecutive year, selected packaging from SFI chain of custody certified paperboard for the 2011 souvenir egg.  The White House unveiled the official souvenir design and logo in late March.  The egg itself has been manufactured from FSC-certified wood. The National Park Foundation sells the souvenir egg to benefit the White House Easter Egg Roll.

With nearly three quarters of all certified forests in North America meeting or recognized by our standard, we at SFI are pleased the White House is supporting responsibly managed forests with the Easter Egg Roll.  SFI’s comprehensive standard backs a strong commitment to responsible forest management and continuous improvement on SFI-certified lands across North America.  I also think it speaks volumes that the White House and National Park Foundation are recognizing two valid certification programs — the FSC and SFI.  They are not the first organizations to acknowledge the value of both standards. They join a long list of organizations, companies and associations around the world — including the United Nations, the Society of American Foresters and the National Association of State Foresters — who also appreciate the value of multiple forest certification programs.

We are thrilled, yet again, to play a role in this wonderful American tradition, and we hope the White House and other government entities increasingly use certified products, as it sends a signal when government leaders promote responsible forestry by sourcing certified products.

The first GreenGov Symposium, sponsored by the White House Council on Economic Quality came to a close last week.  The event focused on President Obama’s Executive Order 13514, which set sustainability goals for Federal agencies specifically in their environmental, energy and economic performance.  The Executive Order, signed just over a year ago, requires Federal agencies to increase energy efficiency, reduce fleet petroleum consumption, conserve water, reduce waste, support sustainable communities, and leverage Federal purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies.

SFI took part in the event as a sponsor to demonstrate to government officials how the SFI program and forest certification in general can help Federal agencies support responsible forestry and purchasing.  It was great to see so many government officials coming together to find solutions to meet their sustainability requirements.  On the first day of the symposium, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack both spoke about the importance of this new Executive Order for Federal agencies and as an example for the private sector. Breakout session topics throughout the symposium included clean energy, water efficiency, achieving zero waste, greening the supply chain, and sustainable communities.  You can watch videos of the keynote speeches and panel discussions here.

Many government officials stopped by the SFI booth and were eager to learn more about forest certification and its connections to responsible procurement and green building.  Additionally, SFI sponsored the “Greening the Supply Chain” track, helping to draw attention to the many steps that can be taken to help make more efficient procurement decisions.

Cups used throughout the event were SFI-labeled ecotainers – check out the picture below. These cups provided an excellent example of consumer products sourced from responsibly managed forests and demonstrated how simple purchasing decisions can make a difference.

Overall, it was an exciting event and we at SFI hope to take part in it again in the future.

Earlier this week the White House unveiled its official design and logo for this year’s Easter Egg Roll souvenirs. For the second consecutive year, the egg packaging has been made from SFI-certified paperboard. The egg itself has been manufactured from FSC-certified wood.

As the largest certifier of U.S. forests, we at SFI are pleased the White House is recognizing the importance of promoting sustainability with the Easter Egg Roll and supporting the responsibly managed forests of North America. I also think it speaks volumes that the White House is recognizing two valid certification programs—the SFI and FSC. The White House is not the first organization to acknowledge the value of both standards. It joins a long list of companies and associations around the world who do so as well.

We are happy to play a small part in this wonderful American tradition, and look forward to the day when all wood and paper products at the White House come from certified forests.