NEWS RELEASES

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) is pleased to announce Domtar as the recipient of the 2026 SFI Leadership in Conservation Award. Certified to the SFI 2022 Forest Management, Fiber Sourcing, and Chain of Custody Standards, Domtar is being recognized for sustained engagement with the SFI Climate Smart Forestry Initiative and leadership in meaningful conservation efforts. Holding SFI certification for more than 20 years, and as the largest holder of SFI Forest Management certificates, Domtar brings substantial scale to responsible forest management.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) is pleased to announce the Quebec SFI Implementation Committee (SIC) as the winner of the 2026 SFI Implementation Committee Achievement Award at the 2026 SFI Annual Conference. The committee is being recognized for its wide-ranging engagement across the SFI Conservation, Standards, Community, and Education pillars, demonstrating a longstanding commitment to advancing sustainable forestry in Quebec.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) is proud to announce the first-ever recipients of the SFI Indigenous Forest Leadership Award, in honour of Chief Lorraine Cobiness who passed in 2025. This inaugural award recognizes the Chiefs and Councilors of the Miisun Integrated Resource Management Company for leadership in land stewardship.

Kathy Abusow, CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI), recently announced the Arbor Day Foundation as the recipient of the 2026 SFI CEO Award. Arbor Day Foundation CEO Dan Lambe accepted the award on behalf of the organization during the 2026 Annual SFI Conference.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) is proud to announce funding awards to eight projects to Indigenous partners advancing Indigenous-led Climate Smart Forestry (CSF) in Canada. Building on the momentum of the first round of funding, SFI has committed 2 million in funding to support Indigenous-led CSF projects as they implement innovative strategies that strengthen forest resilience, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and uphold Indigenous values in forest stewardship. The projects are part of the SFI Climate Smart Forestry Initiative – an effort to advance the interpretation and implementation of CSF practices across the SFI Canadian and U.S. footprint of more than 145 million certified hectares / 350 million certified acres.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) is proud to release a new Indigenous Rights and Relationship Building Spotlight video featuring the Tsuut’ina Nation. The video highlights the Nation’s leadership in land stewardship, including wildfire resilience and community-based forest management, and in strengthening capacity, engaging youth, and advancing long-term sustainability rooted in the cultural values and self-determined priorities. It also shares how the SFI Forest Management Standard supports the implementation of many of these priorities and values, such as mitigating undesirable impacts of wildfire.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) announces the release of the SFI Regional Climate Change Risk Summaries. Available United States summaries include the Northeast and Lake States, Northwest, and the Southeast regions. The new science-based resources are designed to support the identification and prioritization of climate risks to forests in the United States. These summaries have been developed as part of the SFI Climate Smart Forestry Initiative in collaboration with the Michigan State University Forest Carbon and Climate Program and with support from the Doris Duke Foundation.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) announced the launch of a new interactive online SFI Sustainability Framework Crosswalk tool to assess and interpret how the SFI Standards align with leading sustainability reporting frameworks, including the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), and the European Union Taxonomy (EU Taxonomy). While these frameworks have unique objectives and audiences, they are striving to provide climate, nature, and biodiversity assurances. The SFI Standards were designed to deliver exactly this- providing detailed, comprehensive and rigorous requirements that are data-driven and third-party audited.

SFI announced that President and CEO Kathy Abusow will retire in 2026, concluding an extraordinary career marked by visionary leadership. Kathy has led SFI through a period of significant expansion across North America, increasing reach, impact, relevance, and global recognition.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced a determination on wood certification systems in the LEED v5 green building rating system in alignment with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), the Forest Stewardship Council-US (FSC-US), and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) announces the establishment of two SFI Climate Smart Forestry Initiative Advisory Committees, one in the United States and one in Canada, to shape the activities and outputs of the SFI Climate Smart Forestry (SFI CSF) Initiative on climate-informed forest management practices, science syntheses, and knowledge sharing across North America.

The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) is partnering with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT Canada) to develop the Arboriculture & Urban Forestry Career Guide— a global career resource highlighting professionals in arboriculture and urban forestry.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and McMaster University announce a new partnership to support the SFI Climate Smart Forestry Initiative, which is advancing the interpretation and implementation of climate-informed forestry practices across almost 120 million SFI-certified hectares in Canada. With investments from public and private sources, including Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), the SFI Climate Smart Forestry Initiative engages experts and SFI-certified organizations to reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by identifying, developing, and implementing practices that meet the SFI 2022 Forest Management Standard objectives, while achieving co-benefits for biodiversity and wildfire risk reduction. Activities include forest GHG accounting, new research on forest vulnerability, and supporting forest management decision-makers through extension materials.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is proud to announce funding for eight Indigenous organizations and their projects to advance Climate Smart Forestry (CSF) in Canada. SFI is supporting Indigenous-led projects to implement strategies that improve forest resiliency to a changing climate, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support Indigenous values.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is proud to support the outcomes of the 9th American Forest Congress (AFC), including resolutions to help forests thrive in a changing climate, support expanded markets for forest products, advance forest research, and invest in workforce development.