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The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program

Lead Organisation:

American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA)

Where:

Washington, DC

Time period:

on-going since October 1994

Web link:

http://www.afandpa.org/forestry/sfi_frame.html

   

Partners:

Sustainable Forestry Board

External Review Panel

The Conservation Fund

American Tree Farm System

Society of American Foresters

Ruffed Grouse Society

National Association of State Foresters

National Woodland Owners Association

National Fish and Wildlife Association

Forest Resources Association

   

Aims/Objectives:

To define “sustainable forestry” as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by practicing a land stewardship ethic which integrates the reforestation, managing, growing, nurturing, and harvesting of trees for useful products with the conservation of soil, air and water quality, wildlife and fish habitat, & aesthetics.”

To visibly and substantively change the way industrial forestry is practiced on the ground, by developing a scientifically-sound industry standard for sustainable forestry, and making conformance with the SFI Standard (SFIS) mandatory for membership in AF&PA;

To use in forests, and promote among other forest landowners, sustainable forestry practices that are economically, environmentally and socially responsible; both domestically and internationally;

To invite the public onto the industry’s forests, to view forestry practices first hand;

To make available to the public an annual report on the progress achieved and to invite an outside panel of environmental conservation and forestry experts (SFI External Review Panel) to review progress, and make their views known to the public; and

To promote continual improvement in both the practice of sustainable forestry and the quality of the SFI Standard.

   

Measurable results and specific targets:

From its beginning as a voluntary effort of AF&PA members, the SFI program has steadily expanded its reach to other participants and cooperators. That circle of people and organizations now numbers several thousand. Some milestones include:

In 1995, some 199 AF&PA member companies representing approximately 21 million hectares of U.S. forests committed to the SFI program. AF&PA terminated the memberships of 15 companies for failure to comply, and more than 10 others dropped out to avoid the cost of compliance. Also In 1995, 31 State Implementation Committees (SIC’s) were formed to help meet the SFI Standard through targeted local actions. The SIC’s involved public agencies, universities, local forestry associations, landowners, loggers, and conservation groups. In 1995, SIC’s spent approximately one-half-million dollars (US$) to promote sustainable forestry. By 2002, that level had increased to over $4.9 million per year.

As part of the SFI program, SIC’s promote logger training programs to reach the thousands of independent contractors that are the key to the quality of forest harvesting operations. In 1995, more that 3,300 loggers and foresters received training; by 2002 the total that had completed SFI-approved training programs exceeded 67,400.

In 1998, non-member private and public organizations were invited to join as SFI program licensees. By May of 2001, some 52 public and private organizations had committed to the SFI Standard through the licensing program, and the total acreage for the SFI program in North America had grown to 37.9 million hectares. As of March of 2002, the SFI program now encompasses 205 participants and 43.1 million hectares. In 1998, a voluntary verification/certification process was established, and SFI participants could engage independent, third party auditors to verify their compliance with the SFI Standard. Some 283,000 hectares underwent third-party certification in 1998; by December of 2002, that number will increase to over 32 million hectares.

By 2000, some 30 private conservation and resource organizations had officially expressed support for the goals of the SFI program, and 12 states had passed resolutions of support. In strong recognition of the SFI program’s commitment to sustainable communities and sustainable employment, 9 major U.S. labor unions representing 2.5 million workers also endorsed the program.

Expanding efforts to reach non-industrial private forest owners, a mutual recognition agreement was signed with the American Tree Farm System. Tree Farm is the largest and oldest non-industrial landowner certification program in the U.S., encompassing 65,000 landowners and 11 million hectares. Efforts to form an international framework of mutually equivalent forest certification systems were accelerated, and SFI program materials were published in Chinese, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and Korean. Also, at the request of the Office of the Vice President of the United States, the SFI Standard was translated into Russian, so that Vice President Gore could present it to Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomerdin as an example of non-governmental voluntary programs to improve the environment.

In 2001, governance of the SFI standard and certification procedures was shifted to a 15-member, independent Sustainable Forestry Board (SFB) composed of 1/3 conservation and environmental organizations, 1/3 professional and academic experts and 1/3 forest industry leaders,. The SFB has convened an Auditor’s Forum and a Customer’s Forum, to also incorporate the views of these important partners into the continuous improvement of the program. In January of 2002, the SFB completed its legal separation from AF&PA, ensuring that management of the SFI Standard and Verification/Certification Procedures is maintained by an independent non-profit organization.

   

Implementation mechanisms and further application:

The SFI program and its development and implementation is an example of an industry sector initiative designed to involve and mobilize an enormous number of stakeholders reaching all the way from private landowners to retail consumers. Initially, capacity for the program was provided through members of the American Forest & Paper Association. World class public opinion research clearly showed current and future societal expectations for the forests of the United States. This research laid the foundation for the SFI program and was key in ensuring broad support from all program participants. Subsequent research kept the SFI program on-target and lead to significant changes to ensure that other key stakeholders' (e.g. retailers, consumers) expectations continue to be met.

Management-employee interaction within SFI members has been excellent, and corporate “buy-in” has been strong from the program’s inception. AF&PA member CEOs must annually sign an SFI compliance form that represents an official commitment of the participant. The SFIS is explicit: “Program participants shall ensure that their commitment to the SFIS Principles is communicated throughout their organization.” Required indicators for this performance measure include a written policy statement sent throughout the organization, a formal training program, and documentation of the training conducted. In implementing sustainable forestry practices on forestland enrolled in the SFI program, it takes good understanding by field people in the participating organization, who must explain the program’s requirements to independent contractors doing the actual field work. Thus, communication about details of the SFI Standard, as well as guidelines, performance measures, and core indicators, must flow freely both within and outside participating organizations. The rapid growth of certified performance the program has experienced speaks to the success of this broad communication.

At the State level, management of many details of the SFI program was handed over to 34 state, provincial and regional SFI Implementation Committees (SICs). Those SICs are made up of a wide variety of industry leaders, professional organizations, state and federal agencies, university staff, and ENGO representatives. They operate on funds raised within the State, and in 2001 raised some $4.9 million for activities to implement the SFI program. Much of their effort goes into developing and implementing training schools on sustainable forestry methods for loggers, and they have trained over 67,400 to date. They also operate an Inconsistent Practices Protocol that encourages members of the public to report any forestry activities that seem to be inconsistent with the SFI Standard. Those claims are fully investigated and, where found to be valid, must be addressed by the SFI program participant or penalties will be incurred, including revocation of their SFI license.

Replication. The approach of the SFI program – development of an industry standard through a multi-stakeholder process – is replicable in other countries as well as other industries. The creation of the SFB, with its model of independent, shared decision-making that involves a broad cross-section of public and private stakeholders, is a pattern that we believe can and should be replicated elsewhere. It took the SFI program 5 years to develop into that approach to governance, but those lessons are now learned for the benefit of any who wish to study them.

SFI participants and staff have been highly pro-active in the international discussions surrounding forest certification. While the goal of an international framework of mutually-recognized sustainable forestry certification systems is yet to be achieved, there has been a great deal of progress and consensus on critical elements for the assessments of certification systems. The debates around forest certification have raised the visibility of the issue among consumers and businesses at every step of the supply chain, as well as among public officials. By further enhancing a leading and broadly accepted national standard for sustainable forestry, the SFI program is making a major contribution to the emerging consensus on the need for sustainable forestry throughout the world.

Efforts to encourage the replication of the SFI program approach elsewhere, as the basis for an international framework of mutually equivalent forest certification systems, have resulted in publishing the SFI program materials in Chinese, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and Korean. At the request of the Office of the Vice President of the United States, the SFI Standard was translated into Russian, so that Vice President Gore could present it to Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomerdin as an example of non-governmental voluntary programs to improve the environment.

While this is an unfolding story, all indications are that the SFI program has provided, and continues to provide, a learning ground with broad international application. If the vision of sustainable development that started at UNCED and continues to grow in a variety of international efforts can be made to work at the practical level in North America’s private forests, there is hope that it can be extended to a much broader international stage in the coming Century.

The vision of the SFI program is expanding the practice of sustainable forest management, involving both continued improvement and growth with quality control. The continued improvement objective applies to every participant, and their efforts to improve the science and art of sustainable forest management. It also applies to SFI governance, where the Sustainable Forestry Board seeks, through communication with the External Review Panel, the Auditors and Customers Forums, and periodic Task Forces assigned to address particular challenges, to continually improve the SFIS. The External Review Panel and the SFI management team work to improve the public reporting process, including the quality and utility of the Annual Progress Report, the credibility and accuracy of communications materials, and the development of improved measures of progress.

The industry’s future agenda is one of increasing participation in a global marketplace based on an international recognition of the need for sustainable development. To further this agenda, the industry, through the SFI program, is helping to address significant global issues, including:

Official industry opposition to illegal logging. Illegal logging, while seldom a problem in the U.S., is an important issue in some regions of the world. AF&PA’s recently adopted statement says, in part: “A basic tenant of any responsible producer should be clear opposition to illegal logging. Illegal logging not only contributes to deforestation but also undermines the viability of legally harvested and traded forest products and is a serious detriment to forest sustainability.”

Work with the Montreal Process to further the understanding and implementation of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest development. The SFI program, based in the international concepts reflected in the Montreal Process, has been an important testing ground for the practical application of sustainable forestry practices on the land.

Work with other national and international forestry groups to develop an approach to mutually recognized national and international standards for sustainable forestry that will provide a basis for international trade in certified or certifiable forest products.

   

CONTACT:

 

Name:

John Heissenbuttel

Email:

John_Heissenbuttel@afandpa.org

Organisation:

American Forest & Paper Association

Address:

1111 19th Street, NW Suite 800

City:

Washington

State/Region:

DC

Postal Code:

20036

Country:

United States of America

Telephone:

202-463-2470

Fax:

202-463-2708


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