SFI BLOG
Connecting Communities to Urban Forests with Historic Investment
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is celebrating being named a recipient of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service’s historic $1 billion investment in urban forests. This transformative funding aims to plant and maintain trees, combat extreme heat, and address climate change while improving access to nature in urban and suburban areas across the United States.
More Than 75 Members of Congress Urge USGBC to Open LEED Rating System
Members of Congress have joined with 10 U.S. governors, adding their voices to the thousands calling for an open LEED rating system.
Petition Delivered to USGBC
Today SFI delivered nearly 6,000 petition signatures and hundreds of comments to President, CEO & Founding Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council Rick Fedrizzi.
Hill Briefing – Supporting Wood Use in Green Building
SFI participated in briefings on Capitol Hill, and a remarkable panel helped bring awareness to forest certification, wood as an ideal building material, and the importance of opening LEED.
Multiple Stakeholders Echo SFI View – USGBC Should Recognize SFI and Other Forest Certification Programs
Craig Webb recently wrote an article for ProSales outlining the benchmark changes and why various organizations don’t feel the current draft properly addresses forest certification issues.
USGBC Needs to Find a Better Way to Assess Forest Certification
The USGBC recently requested comments on a fourth round of draft benchmarks to evaluate forest certification programs in its LEED green building rating system.
Timber Caucus Supports Inclusive LEED Policy
The co-chairs of the Congressional Timber Caucus recently sent a powerful letter to the USGBC advocating for the organization to reverse its exclusive LEED policy.
SFI Raises Forest Certification Awareness at AIA Show
“Design as Exploration” is the theme of the 2010 AIA Expo, and we are thrilled to be a part of it.
Idaho Governor Says Open LEED
Coming off the heels of the USGBC Federal Summit, we’re as excited as ever to raise awareness of SFI and the program’s role in green building.
Tracking the Power of Partnerships
I am pleased to announce that we’ve just released the latest SFI progress report, which measures our program’s progress in meeting its goals.
SFI at the USGBC Federal Summit
The USGBC Federal Summit in Washington DC last week was a great opportunity to promote SFI forest certification and certified wood products.
SFI Invests in Conservation Projects
Key components of the SFI program are support for research and landowner outreach, and these requirements in our standard have already led to countless benefits in North America.
Trade Outlets Call to Open LEED
Recent coverage in Canadian Wood Products and the LBM Journal points to reasons as to why the US Green Building Council should open the LEED rating system.
Blog 4 – SFI Statement on LEED: Expanding Inclusive Policies
In the final installment of the blog series about SFI’s LEED statements, I wanted to discuss how agencies, governments, and rating systems worldwide have embraced inclusive forest certification policies.
Blog 3 – SFI Statement on LEED: Petition Support
Not only have we received broad support to open the LEED rating system from government and forest community leaders, but have also received thousands of comments on the petition.
Blog 2 – SFI Statement on LEED: Community and Government Support
Yesterday I talked about how giving credit only to FSC-certified wood discriminates against North American wood for LEED projects.
