The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) teamed up with PEFC International for the 2023 SFI Annual Conference in collaboration with PEFC Week in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from May 14-18, 2023.

We learned about and discussed opportunities on the most-pressing issues and challenges facing the people and the planet, both locally and globally.

WHO WAS THERE?

The 2023 SFI Annual Conference in collaboration with PEFC Week offered a unique opportunity to network with local, national, binational, and global community members, including those in the SFI and PEFC networks, Indigenous representatives, government officials, students, faculty, researchers, conservation groups, customers, investors, and more!

Click here to see highlights of this year’s conference in Vancouver.

ABOUT PEFC

PEFC International is a leading global alliance of national and regional forest certification systems, among them the SFI system for Canada and the US. As an international non-profit, non-governmental organization, it promotes sustainable forest management through independent third-party certification worldwide. PEFC provides forest owners globally, from the large to the small, with a tool to demonstrate their responsible practices, while empowering companies and consumers to buy sustainably.

WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE?

The 2023 SFI Annual Conference in collaboration with PEFC Week was a must-attend event for those who wanted to engage with some of the foremost thought leaders in the forest sector. Sessions covered many topics, including:

• Nature Positive Solutions: Learned how organizations use data, science, and impactful collaborations to advance forest-positive and nature-positive solutions.
• Climate Smart Forestry: Explored strategies from the public and private sectors to advance climate resiliency, including implementing SFI’s new climate smart forestry requirements.
• Indigenous Rights & Reconciliation:  Inspired by case studies of Indigenous Reconciliation in the forest sector and learn how Indigenous Rights are being advanced.
• Supply Chain Leadership: Advanced your understanding of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) expectations in the supply chain and how PEFC and SFI certifications and programs are being leveraged to advance sustainability while meeting investor and customer expectations.
• Diverse & Resilient Workforce: Engaged with a younger generation and workforce leaders to understand best practices in retention, recruitment, and advancement and how SFI’s education program, Project Learning Tree, is moving the needle on this topic.
• Urban & Community Forests: Discussed the role of urban and community forests in building sustainable communities while advancing human health and well-being and delivering on climate resiliency.