SFI – TAKING A FIRM STANCE AGAINST DEFORESTATION/FOREST DEGRADATION
SFI, along with others worldwide, shares the vision of ensuring forests remain as forests. The SFI Forest Management Standard does not allow deforestation and has strong requirements to prevent forest degradation. The SFI Fiber Sourcing and SFI Chain of Custody Standards also have requirements to ensure SFI-certified organizations avoid sourcing from controversial sources, which includes conversion sources originating from regions experiencing forest area decline.
While the SFI Forest Management Standard has strong requirements to prevent forest degradation, definitions on “deforestation” as well as “forest degradation” were added this spring to strengthen SFI’s position on these critical topics. Additional guidance was also adopted to link the new definitions to SFI standard requirements.
SFI Standards Prevent Deforestation
The SFI Forest Management Performance Measure 1.3 specifies SFI’s commitment to no-deforestation, indicating that “Forest lands converted to other land uses shall not be certified to this SFI Standard.” These restrictions are intended to apply to the conversion of forest land and recently deforested land that is capable of regenerating to forest but is preventing from doing so. Furthermore, if a SFI certified organization plans to convert one forest cover type to another forest cover type, they must conduct an assessment of the potential ecological impacts to ensure it does not significantly impact Forests with Exceptional Conservation Values, old growth forest, and/or forest critical to threatened and endangered species.
The SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard and the SFI Chain of Custody Standard also require SFI-certified organizations to assess the risk of sourcing forest fiber from controversial sources including from conversion sources originating from regions experiencing forest area decline. If a SFI-certified organization determines they are sourcing from such sources, they will need to mitigate this risk of sourcing this forest fiber.
SFI Standards Prevent Forest Degradation
The SFI Forest Management Standard prevents forest degradation through five core areas which act to limit lasting and significant direct anthropogenic impacts to the structure, composition, or function of the forest. Below are those areas and the key requirements of the SFI Forest Management Standard.
1. PRODUCTIVITY (e.g., growing stock, non-timber forest products)
- Prompt forest regeneration after harvest: Performance Measure (PM) 2.1.
- Maintenance of forest soils and stocks: PM 2.3.
2. BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (e.g., ecosystem state, forest fragmentation, species, species functional groups)
- Protection and maintenance of native biodiversity: PM 4.1.
- Conservation of species at risk and rare communities: PM 4.2.
- Identification and protection of ecologically important sites: PM 4.3.
3. DISTURBANCES (e.g., alien invasive species, fire, water quantity)
- Protection of water values: PM 3.2.
- Avoidance of negative effects of biological agents: PM 2.4.
- Limitations of forest degradation from wildfire and restore forest post-wildfire: PM 10.1.
4. CARBON STORAGE
- Enhancement of opportunities for carbon capture on forests that are owned or managed: PM 9.2.
5. PROTECTIVE FUNCTIONS (e.g., soil erosion, water quality)
- Maintenance of forest soils and stocks: PM 2.3.
Protection of water values: PM 3.2.
Furthermore, SFI Performance Measure 1.2 lays out specific constraints on conversion of one forest cover type to another forest cover type, which in turn also prevents forest degradation. In particular, PM 1.2 precludes conversion of one forest cover type to another forest cover type in the absence of objectives for long-term outcomes that support maintaining native forest cover types and ecological function. This includes where conversion puts rare; ecologically important, native forest cover types at risk of becoming rare, or where conversion creates significant adverse impacts on Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value, old growth forests, or forests critical to threatened and endangered species.
SFI Board Policy Cutoff Date
In March 2024, the SFI Board officially adopted a policy which reconfirms SFI’s commitment to no deforestation and no forest degradation by explicitly prohibiting certification to the SFI Forest Management Standard on lands that are deforested and on practices that are causing forest degradation after December 31, 2020. With these enhancements, SFI’s Forest Management Standard is well positioned to demonstrate compliance with any regulatory requirements focused on deforestation and forest degradation.
SFI Module with Supplemental Requirements to Support EUDR Compliance
With the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) accelerating these global conversations, it’s also important we develop tools specifically for those organizations looking to demonstrate compliance with EUDR. In March 2024, SFI introduced an optional module for companies certified to the SFI Fiber Sourcing and Chain of Custody Standards. This optional EUDR module applies to the manufacturing facilities and therefore can provide relevance directly in the supply chain for products going into the EU. Because this module was developed for EUDR compliance specifically, the module integrates EUDR definitions as well as EUDR’s due diligence system. SFI-certified organizations can add this module to the scope of their existing SFI Fiber Sourcing or Chain of Custody certification. While the optional EUDR module requires geolocation, SFI leaves it up to the organization to choose their preferred geolocation technology solution and provider.
SFI FOREST MANAGEMENT STANDARD
SFI FIBER SOURCING STANDARD
SFI ON DEFORESTATION/FOREST DEGRADATION
SFI CHAIN-OF-CUSTODY STANDARD
SFI CERTIFIED SOURCING STANDARD
SFI INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND FAMILIES MODULE
SFI SMALL LANDS GROUP CERTIFICATION MODULE
SFI 2022 STANDARDS AND RULES (COMPLETE)
INTERPRETATIONS ON THE SFI 2022 STANDARDS AND RULES
SFI 2022 STANDARDS AND RULES REVISION PROCESS
CONFLICT TIMBER — RUSSIA AND BELARUS
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Courtney Ryncarz
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Gregor Macintosh
Senior Director Standards
778-351-3358
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Gordy Mouw
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Jason Metnick
Senior VP, Customer Affairs
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FEATURED ARTICLE
NEW FOREST CERTIFICATION STANDARDS OFFERS NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s (SFI) updated forest certification standards provide solutions to some of the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges. Sustainable forest management and the procurement of wood products from sustainably managed sources are critical tools that help avoid deforestation.