Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc

SFI'S MISSION IS TO ADVANCE SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH FOREST-FOCUSED COLLABORATION.

STANDARDS: SFI DEVELOPED NEW STANDARDS TO SUPPORT SFI'S LEADERSHIP IN OFFERING SOLUTIONS TO SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST PRESSING SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES. REQUIREMENTS FOR A NEW SFI CLIMATE SMART FORESTRY OBJECTIVE ARE ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW STANDARDS. FORESTS PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN THE CARBON CYCLE AND WITH PROPER MANAGEMENT, CAN BE ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS. SFI-CERTIFIED ORGANIZATIONS ARE NOW REQUIRED TO ENSURE FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION MEASURES. SFI REVISES AND UPDATES THE SFI STANDARDS TO INCORPORATE THE LATEST SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION, RESPOND TO EMERGING ISSUES, AND ENSURE CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT. BY THE END OF 2021, OVER 350 MILLION ACRES ACROSS THE US AND CANADA WERE CERTIFIED TO THE SFI FOREST MANAGEMENT STANDARD, AND ALMOST 40 INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND THEIR BUSINESSES ARE CERTIFIED TO THE SFI FOREST MANAGEMENT STANDARD.

EDUCATION: SFI INC. OPERATES PROJECT LEARNING TREE (PLT) , AN AWARD-WINNING INITIATIVE THAT HELPS EDUCATORS INTEGRATE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION INTO LESSON PLANS AND USE THE OUTDOORS TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN LEARNING ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND THEM. IN 2021, PLT RELEASED A NEW CURRICULUM GUIDE TO ENGAGE STUDENTS FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE EIGHT IN EXPLORING THEIR ENVIRONMENT. FIFTY FIELD-TESTED, HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES INTEGRATE INVESTIGATIONS OF NATURE WITH SCIENCE, MATH, ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, AND SOCIAL STUDIES. EDUCATORS CAN OBTAIN A COPY OF PLT'S EXPLORE YOUR ENVIRONMENT: K-8 ACTIVITY GUIDE DIRECTLY FROM PLT'S SHOP, FROM AMAZON AND OTHER PLACES WHERE BOOKS ARE SOLD, OR BY ATTENDING A LOCAL PLT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP CONDUCTED BY PLT'S MULTI-STATE NETWORK OF 75 COORDINATORS AND 1,000 FACILITATORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

PROMOTION AND COMMUNICATION:IN 2021, SFI HOSTED A VIRTUAL ANNUAL CONFERENCE WITH OVER 632 REGISTRATIONS. THE SFI ANNUAL CONFERENCE BRINGS TOGETHER PEOPLE FROM THE CONSERVATION, COMMUNITY, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMIC SECTORS WHO CARE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF FORESTS AND PARTICIPATION IS OPEN TO ALL. ATTENDEES INCLUDED CEOS OF FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES, CONSERVATION AND COMMUNITY LEADERS, INDIGENOUS REPRESENTATIVES, FOREST MANAGERS, UNIVERSITY FACULTY AND STUDENTS, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, AND MANY MORE. KATHY ABUSOW, SFI PRESIDENT AND CEO, JOINED OTHER CEOS AND SENIOR LEADERS OF GLOBAL COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS TO DELIVER A PRESENTATION ON "MAKING BETTER CHOICES FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET" AT THE CONSUMER GOODS FORUM 2021 GLOBAL SUMMIT. WITH AN OVERVIEW OF SFI, KATHY MADE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY AND THE WORLD'S MOST PRESSING GLOBAL PROBLEMS LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE. BUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF FOREST AND CONSERVATION LEADERS AND FOSTERING DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION WERE OTHER IMPORTANT THEMES. IN 2021, SFI WAS ALSO RECOGNIZED BY THE BUILT GREEN RATING SYSTEM. NOW, COMPANIES LIKE SFI-CERTIFIED CRAFT ARTISAN WOOD FLOOR PRODUCTS CAN RECEIVE 4 OUT OF 5 POINTS INSTEAD OF 0 POINTS.SFI PROVIDES FACILITIES, MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES TO PROJECT LEARNING TREE CANADA (PLT CANADA), A NON-PROFIT INCORPORATED IN CANADA. PLT CANADA'S MISSION IS TO USE THE OUTDOORS TO ENGAGE YOUTH IN LEARNING ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND THEM IN RURAL, INDIGENOUS AND URBAN COMMUNITIES AND ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY, STEWARDSHIP AND CAREER PATHWAYS USING TREES AND FORESTS AS WINDOWS ON THE WORLD. SFI IS THE SOLE MEMBER OF PLT CANADA AND THE PLT CANADA BOARD REPRESENTS A SUBSET OF THE SFI BOARD. IN 2021, PLT CANADA WORKED WITH PARTNERS TO PLACE YOUNG ADULTS INTO OVER 2,460 GREEN JOBS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. SINCE 2018, SFI AND PLT CANADA HAVE PLACED OVER 6,000 YOUNG ADULTS INTO GREEN JOBS, ENSURING GENDER BALANCE THROUGHOUT. ADDITIONALLY, SFI AND PLT CANADA HAVE PLACED OVER 900 INDIGENOUS YOUNG ADULTS INTO GREEN JOBS, FROM OVER 100 DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.

CONSERVATION: SFI IS THE ONLY STANDARD TO REQUIRE THAT CERTIFIED ORGANIZATIONS INVEST IN FOREST RESEARCH. SFI CERTIFIED ORGANIZATIONS COLLECTIVELY INVEST ON AVERAGE OVER $61 MILLION PER YEAR IN FOREST RESEARCH. THIS BRINGS THE TOTAL AMOUNT INVESTED IN RESEARCH BY SFI PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS TO $1.8 BILLION SINCE 1995. SFI IS SUPPORTING RESEARCH TO MEASURE OUTCOMES RELATIVE TO WATER QUALITY, BIODIVERSITY AND SPECIES AT RISK, AND CLIMATE CHANGERANGING FROM CARBON TO FOREST HEALTH. COMMUNITY: SFI'S UNIQUE NETWORK OF 34 REGIONAL, STATE AND PROVINCIAL SFI IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEES (SICS) REPRESENTS SFI ACROSS NORTH AMERICA. COMMITTEE PARTICIPANTS ENGAGED IN LOCAL COMMUNITY PROJECTS AND OUTREACH, MONITORING COMPLIANCE TO THE SFI STANDARD, AND PROVIDING LOGGER TRAINING AND LANDOWNER OUTREACH. IN 2021, SICS PROVIDED TRAINING TO ALMOST 19,000 RESOURCE AND LOGGING PROFESSIONALS, BRINGING THE TOTAL TRAINED SINCE 1995 TO OVER 241,000.SFI AWARDS COMMUNITY GRANTS TO PROMOTE COLLABORATION WITH THE SFI NETWORK TO SUPPORT LOCAL COMMUNITIES' UNDERSTANDING OF THE VALUE AND BENEFITS FROM SUSTAINABLY MANAGED FORESTS. IN 2021, SFI SUPPORTED 14 COMMUNITY GRANTS THAT FEATURED COLLABORATION BETWEEN SFI AND A DIVERSE RANGE OF ORGANIZATIONS.