Kick off the 2023 SFI Annual Conference in collaboration with PEFC Week, where we will learn about and discuss opportunities on the most pressing issues and challenges facing our planet and communities, locally and globally, and receive a traditional welcome and territorial acknowledgement by Squamish Nation Ocean Going Canoe Family.

Hear from government and forest sector leaders about the importance of the conference theme: Forest, People, and Nature Positive.

Leadership spotlight: Miitigoog Limited Partnership and Miisun Integrated Resource Management Company. Watch Miitigoog and Miisun’s story and learn about their innovative resource management strategy that promotes strong working relationships between First Nations and sector partners.

This panel will discuss the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and offer compelling thought leadership around the important topic of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), as an essential nation-to-nation conversation and foundational principle of sustainable forest management. The SFI President’s Award will also be presented.

SFI and PEFC forest certification standards are highly trusted solutions to ensure forest products are from sustainably managed forests. Hear from the PEFC and SFI Board chairs on the importance of PEFC and SFI collaboration on forest supply chains. Learn from key influencers how SFI and PEFC standards can be leveraged with brands, investors, and consumers to demonstrate critical ESG and sustainability assurances.

This panel highlights forest-focused collaborations rooted in recognition and respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, traditional knowledge and self-determined aspirations for the future. Hear from Indigenous communities and their forest sector partners about what makes their partnership work, and what you can do to advance your own relationships.

Hear from government and forest sector leaders about the importance of the conference theme: Forest, People, and Nature Positive.

The guiding principles of the new SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standards point out that “urban forests and trees are vital for community well-being, health, resiliency, and sustainability.” Urban forests and their associate benefits should be accessible and available to everyone. Join us for a global perspective on the current state and future plans for urban and community forestry. Take away actions you can take to help support sustainability through collaborations where you live, work, play, and learn.

The forest sector has the opportunity and responsibility to advance and scale solutions to some of the world’s greatest environmental challenges, such as sustaining imperiled biodiversity and maintaining essential ecosystem services. This session will examine the role of certification in driving, quantifying, and sharing forest-positive solutions to ecological sustainability, will demonstrate the value of collaborative efforts to advance environmental metrics, and will offer insights into the upcoming Task Force on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Forest Sector Guidance to be released in September 2023. The SFI Leadership in Conservation award and the SFI Implementation Committee Achievement award will also be presented.

Sustainably managed forests are among the planet’s most important tools for addressing climate change. Organizations are helping to mitigate climate change through the use of SFI standards and the use of SFI and PEFC-certified forest products. The first part of this session will examine the latest science developments and set the stage for the second part of the session, which will explore policy and practice, what the science means for forest managers and forest products manufacturers, and how SFI standards are positioned to play a role.

This session will highlight examples of partnerships and initiatives that are successfully creating impactful workforce development and experiential learning opportunities for young professionals.

Open to all SFI Implementation Committee members and partners.

• Hear from university partners on advancing research priorities
• Share ideas on how to coordinate on SFI standard requirements

Download the Sounding Board deck here.

I. THE NATURE POSITIVE-CHALLENGE

An overview of new developments in ESG around enhanced disclosure requirements and related terms such as “nature-positive” and “regenerative.” Includes discussion of how tools and techniques such as eDNA may make meeting these requirements feasible.

II. MEETING THE CHALLENGE

This session offers examples of SFI conservation work that employs new and innovative techniques and demonstrates the practical application of these emerging tools to address ESG and issues, meet SFI-certification requirements, and collaborate with Indigenous Communities to better integrate traditional knowledge into sustainable forest management.

III. STRIVING FOR METRICS AND IMPACT

This session provides an opportunity to have a dialogue about your conservation priorities and the work of the SFI Conservation Impact Project. How can you communicate about these topics? How can SFI best address these topics in the future? How do ESG, nature-positive, and regenerative goals and aspirations relate to sustainable forestry? What types of research would be most useful to you? What tools do you need?