The SFI 2010-2014 Standard: Making a Difference in Forests and Communities

Understanding SFI helps architects and building owners make better choices in their projects. SFI is an independent, nonprofit organization that advocates sustainable forest management and facilitates responsible forestry globally. The SFI program is based on the premise that responsible environmental behavior and sound business decisions can coexist to the benefit of communities, landowners, manufacturers, shareholders, customers, and the environment, today and for future generations.

Streamside management zone shows an example of the protection of water bodies and riparian zones in Maine. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Kelley

SFI was launched in 1994 as one of the forest sector's contributions to the vision of sustainable development established by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The SFI program is governed by a multidisciplinary, 18-member board equally represented by environmental, social, and economic sectors. Representatives include individuals from conservation organizations, forest product companies, aboriginal groups, small family forest landowners, government agencies, academics, and labor organizations. Across North America, more than 200 million acres are certified to the SFI Standard.

At the core of the SFI program is the SFI 2010-2014 Standard, which guides organizations as to how they manage their forestland and source fiber from noncertified lands. The SFI 2010-2014 standard is comprised of 14 core principles, 20 objectives, 38 performance measures, and 115 indicators. It is the most widely used forest certification standard in North America, and was developed specifically for U.S. and Canadian forests.

The standard was developed through an open, transparent process that included professional foresters, conservationists, scientists, and others key stakeholders. The standard addresses environmental, social, and economic forest values—from water quality and biodiversity to harvesting and regeneration. SFI also manages a Chain-of-Custody Standard that tracks fiber throughout the supply chain.

SFI does not certify organizations as conforming to these standards—that is done by independently accredited certification bodies. All certification bodies that wish to perform certification to the SFI Standard must be accredited by ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or the Standards Council of Canada (SCC).