The Sus­tain­able Forestry Ini­tia­tive (SFI) is an inde­pen­dent, non-prof­it orga­ni­za­tion that works with the for­est sec­tor, brand own­ers, con­ser­va­tion groups, resource pro­fes­sion­als, landown­ers, edu­ca­tors, local com­mu­ni­ties, Indige­nous Peo­ples, gov­ern­ments, and universities. 

SFI’s Mis­sion is to advance sus­tain­abil­i­ty through for­est-focused collaboration.

SFI’s vision is a world that val­ues and ben­e­fits from sus­tain­ably man­aged forests. 

Peo­ple and com­pa­nies are look­ing for bet­ter solu­tions to ease pres­sures on the plan­et — prac­ti­cal choic­es that will con­serve nature, com­bat cli­mate change, and cut waste and pol­lu­tion. Choos­ing cer­ti­fied sus­tain­able for­est prod­ucts is a great way to help pro­tect species, com­bat cli­mate change, reduce plas­tic pol­lu­tion, and pro­tect water supplies.

Stan­dards

SFI stan­dards have become the fastest grow­ing, high­ly trust­ed solu­tion that can sup­port a grow­ing need for prod­ucts from the for­est, as the dri­ve to reduce car­bon pol­lu­tion and waste inten­si­fies. We are work­ing to shape mar­kets today and ensure that sus­tain­ably man­aged forests will con­tin­ue to play a cru­cial role in keep­ing the plan­et healthy.

The SFI 2022 Stan­dards and Rules include: 

• SFI For­est Man­age­ment Standard
• SFI Fiber Sourc­ing Standard
• SFI Chain-of-Cus­tody Standard
• SFI Cer­ti­fied Sourc­ing Standard
• SFI Indige­nous Peo­ples and Fam­i­lies Module
• SFI Small Lands Group Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion Module

On-Prod­uct Labels

SFI on-prod­uct labels com­mu­ni­cate details about the wood fiber in the prod­uct. Labels tell the con­sumer about wood fiber from cer­ti­fied forests, recy­cled mate­r­i­al, and oth­er respon­si­ble sources in a product.

SFI prod­ucts, sup­ply chains and mar­kets are diverse — and so are the labels. SFI’s com­mit­ment to being open and trans­par­ent about the devel­op­ment and admin­is­tra­tion of the SFI stan­dards extends to SFI’s label­ing pro­gram. SFI On Prod­uct Labels reflect SFI raw mate­ri­als and cer­ti­fi­ca­tion of the supplier(s).

Edu­ca­tion

SFI also works to advance envi­ron­men­tal lit­er­a­cy, stew­ard­ship, and career path­ways using trees and forests as win­dows on the world through Project Learn­ing Tree and oth­er edu­ca­tion ini­tia­tives.

The North Car­oli­na PLT pro­gram is coor­di­nat­ed by North Car­oli­na State Uni­ver­si­ty Exten­sion Forestry.