Certifications

Posted by Allison Welde, SFI Director, Conservation Partnerships

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.

Architects and builders can learn more about the benefits of using certified wood in green building thanks to a Continuing Education Unit (CEU) sponsored by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) program. It also demonstrates how government agencies support an inclusive approach to certification and how even LEED Pilot Credit 43 offers an opportunity for SFI-certified wood.

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.

Posted by Barry Graden, SFI Director, Southeast U.S. Community Outreach

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.

Maine has always been a leader when it comes to third-party forest certification – and an executive order signed by Governor Paul LePage and a corresponding news release has just reinforced this position.

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.

I’m so proud of the SFI community’s accomplishments and our shared commitment to responsible forest management, but it really hit home when I had a look at our December newsletter.

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.

British Columbia has more than 130 million acres/53 million hectares of certified forests – over 40 percent of them certified to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard.

And forest professionals contribute a lot to forest certification. So it wasn’t a surprise when the Association of British Columbia Forest Professionals made certification the theme of its November/December magazine – BC Forest Professional – with articles on a range of topics, including SFI certification and audits.

In An SFI Audit: How it Works and What’s Involved, Chris Ridley-Thomas, who leads KPMG Performance Registrar Inc.’s forest certification practice, said the key factors that drive successful SFI audits are competent auditors, clear standards, reliable audit processes and transparent reporting.

He pointed out that regulatory compliance alone is not enough to achieve SFI certification. Chris said that’s because the SFI Standard has unique requirements such as landowner outreach, fiber sourcing and research, and because “. . . regulation provides a static performance target based on conditions to be avoided while voluntary standards provide a dynamic performance target based on processes to improve performance over time.”

In Interfor: 10 Years of SFI Certification, Gerry Fraser, Interfor’s Manager of Sustainable Forestry and a founding member of the Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee, looked back at some of the reasons why his company chose to be certified to the SFI standard in 2000.

“We chose SFI certification for a number of reasons,” Gerry wrote. “It meant we could integrate performance measures and objectives into the environmental management systems we had in place and SFI had broad recognition in the United States – our largest market. We found that certifying our lands gave us the incentive to improve practices and helped us strengthen and formalize many of the environmental and social actions that are part of doing business in British Columbia.”

And on the ground, he added, “the similarities between the three certification standards in British Columbia outweigh the differences.”  Gerry noted that most forest professionals in British Columbia choose SFI or Canadian Standards Association Z809 certification – and since lands certified to CSA are recognized by SFI, this means products from 95% of British Columbia’s certified lands are eligible to use the SFI chain-of-custody label.

If you’ve had a chance to check out the new section on our website – In Case You Were Wondering – you’ll know we welcome this kind of informed discussion about certification. A vote of thanks to Gerry and Chris for doing their part.

Today marks the launch of SFI’s In Case You Were Wondering section of the website (sfiprogram.org/facts). This part of the site is a resource for anyone with questions about forest certification or SFI and explains the values our program is grounded in, the importance of promoting responsible forest management and helps
consumers make informed purchasing decisions.

Independence and inclusion, rigorous third party audits and understanding eco labels are the themes covered throughout this area of our site. We showcase leaders in their respective fields with videos and information featuring me and other key contributors to forest certification:

• Larry Selzer, SFI Board Member and President and CEO of The Conservation Fund;
• Mike Ferrucci, NSF-ISR Forestry Program Manager and Lead Auditor; and
• Scott McDougall, President and CEO of TerraChoice.

Additionally, there is a “share” feature on each page, making it easy for you to post and email information about the site to your social networks.

I couldn’t be more excited about the site, and we hope you find it valuable. Feel free to share your feedback by commenting on the post or emailing info@sfiprogram.org.

I sometimes think the debate about LEED’s unfair treatment of certified wood is so wrapped up in politics it misses the most important point – wood from responsible sources is a great choice for green building.

So obviously I was delighted to see an article by John D. Wagner in the October issue of LBM Journal entitled LEED Acceptance of SFI Now Pending: Could SFI products finally achieve LEED credits?

Wagner’s column says the U.S. Green Building Council’s decision in June to list SFI and other forest certification standards equally in a section on ‘pre-authorized certifications and labels’ in LEED Pilot Credit 43 “has potentially opened the door for granting LEED credit to SFI-certified products for non-structural wood items, such as furniture, flooring, and windows.”

The item appeared shortly after the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated in a news release: “Sustainability of forest products can be verified using any credible third-party rating system, such as Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Forest Stewardship Council or American Tree Farm System certification.”

The USDA was announcing a new report that supports what a lot of us have been saying for a long time – using wood obtained through sustainable forestry practices in green building applications promotes a healthy environment and a strong economy.

Right now, only wood certified to the Forest Stewardship Council – which accounts for about one quarter of North America’s certified forests – is eligible for the LEED certified wood credit. Most FSC-certified forests are outside of North America, and 90 percent are outside of the United States. It was nice that the USDA explicitly recognized standards that are widely represented here, like SFI and Tree Farm.

USGBC really needs to start paying attention to the evidence being put forward by the USDA and so many others, and extend the inclusive approach in the pilot credit to all LEED 2012 rating tools. This would encourage more builders to use North American wood in green building projects – and make it a lot easier for them to find the products they need.

Wagner – an award-winning author and consultant on green building – knows what he is talking about because he has been following SFI for years, and was at our last two conferences. So it means a lot to me when he says: “. . . I would urge doubters to check out SFI. It really is a solid and balanced organization, run by very decent people with a clear sense of their sustainability mission.”

USGBC needs to know it is finally heading in the right direction with Pilot Credit 43 – there is no deadline to post comments through the LEED user forum. If you want more information, check out our update link on USGBC, LEED and SFI.