SFI 2010-2014: Principles for Sustainable Forestry

SFI Program Participants believe forest landowners have an important stewardship responsibility and a commitment to society, and they recognize the importance of maintaining viable commercial, family forest, and conservation forest land bases. They support sustainable forestry practices on forestland they manage, and promote it on other lands. They also support efforts to protect private property rights, and to help all private landowners manage their forestland sustainably.

SFI Program Participants are third-party certified to demonstrate their conformance with 20 objectives, 38 performance measures, and 115 indicators, which support 14 overarching principles of sustainable forestry which follow:

1. Sustainable forestry. To practice sustainable forestry to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by practicing a land stewardship ethic that integrates reforestation and the managing, growing, nurturing, and harvesting of trees for useful products and ecosystem services such as the conservation of soil, air and water quality, carbon, biological diversity, wildlife and aquatic habitats, recreation, and aesthetics.

2. Forest productivity and health. To provide for regeneration after harvest and maintain the productive capacity of the forest land base, and to protect and maintain long-term forest and soil productivity. In addition, to protect forests from economically or environmentally undesirable levels of wildfire, pests, diseases, invasive exotic plants and animals, and other damaging agents and thus maintain and improve long-term forest health and productivity.

3. Protection of water resources. To protect water bodies and riparian zones, and to conform with best management practices to protect water quality.

4. Protection of biological diversity. To manage forests in ways that protect and promote biological diversity, including animal and plant species, wildlife habitats, and ecological or natural community types.

5. Aesthetics and recreation. To manage the visual impacts of forest operations, and to provide recreational opportunities for the public.

6. Protection of special sites. To manage forests and lands of special significance (ecologically, geologically or culturally important) in a manner that protects their integrity and takes into account their unique qualities.

7. Responsible fiber sourcing practices in North America. To use and promote among other forest landowners sustainable forestry practices that are both scientifically credible and economically, environmentally, and socially responsible.

8. Avoidance of controversial sources including illegal logging in offshore fiber sourcing. To avoid wood fiber from illegally logged forests when procuring fiber outside of North America, and to avoid sourcing fiber from countries without effective social laws.

9. Legal compliance. To comply with applicable federal, provincial, state, and local forestry and related environmental laws, statutes, and regulations.

10. Research. To support advances in sustainable forest management through forestry research, science, and technology.

11. Training and education. To improve the practice of sustainable forestry through training and education programs.

12. Public involvement. To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry on public lands through community involvement.

13. Transparency. To broaden the understanding of forest certification to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard by documenting certification audits and making the findings publicly available.

14. Continual improvement. To continually improve the practice of forest management, and to monitor, measure, and report performance in achieving the commitment to sustainable forestry.