NEWS RELEASES

Michael Doss, President and CEO of Graphic Packaging International and Chair of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Board of Directors, is pleased to welcome two new members to the SFI Board of Directors, Ms. Annica Bresky, President and CEO, Stora Enso, and Dr. Tracy Farrell, Director of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) North America Office, and CEO of IUCN-US.

Cooper is well respected among the forest sector, academic communities, and the SFI® network. She has exceptional knowledge and experience in climate smart forestry and applied science and is well-respected internationally for her work in assessing forest-based climate finance and for linking wood utilization to sustainability. Cooper was one of two research scientists at Michigan State University (MSU) who led a study entitled “Linking Climate Change, Forests, and Certification” that included a qualitative analysis of SFI programmatic documents, interviews with key informants, and observations of SFI training activities. The resulting report informed the development of the Climate Smart Forestry objective in SFI’s 2022 Forest Management Standard.

Project Learning Tree® (PLT), an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI), has released a new resource for families and teachers to connect young children ages 1–6 to nature, with a focus on trees.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) praised Congress for passing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which provides funding for climate-smart forestry activities that promote forest health and resilience and increase carbon sequestration.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) announced five new SFI Community Grants today to support projects that make a meaningful impact in communities across the U.S. and Canada and that support SFI’s mission of advancing sustainability through forest-focused collaboration.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) was recently named as a recipient of a $249,108 Wood Innovations Grant from the USDA Forest Service. The aim of the grant program is to expand the use of climate-smart wood products, strengthen emerging wood markets, and support active management to improve forest health and resilience.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) announced the Dr. Sharon Haines Memorial Award for Innovation and Leadership in Sustainability at the 2022 SFI/Project Learning Tree (PLT) Annual Conference on June 15, 2022. Paul Trianosky, SFI’s Chief Conservation Officer, is this year’s recipient. During his time at SFI, Trianosky laid the groundwork for SFI’s focus on the role of forest certification in advancing critical forest values relative to climate change, biodiversity, and water.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) announced the winner of the 2022 SFI Implementation Committee Achievement Award at the 2022 SFI/Project Learning Tree (PLT) Annual Conference today. The Committee was selected for its collaborative efforts in producing a series of four dynamic training videos that advance sustainable forestry and enhance understanding of SFI’s new standards requirements.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) announced the winners of this year’s SFI Leadership in Conservation Award at the 2022 SFI/Project Learning Tree (PLT) Annual Conference today. Weyerhaeuser, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV), American Bird Conservancy (ABC), West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR), and West Virginia University (WVU) are being recognized for fostering partnerships required to combat bird population declines at a landscape-scale. The partners are working together on a project funded by NFWF and managed by SFI to recover critical species habitat in managed forests in West Virginia. Additional support for the project came from the United States Geological Survey, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Council for Air and Stream Improvement.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) announced today that LP Building Solutions (LP) is the recipient of the SFI President’s Award for 2022. The award is given annually to an organization or individual that leads the forest community on important issues related to sustainability, education, and collaboration.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is pleased to announce its new publication: SFI’s Conservation Impact: A Decade of Success. This succinct document provides an executive-level summary of the results of SFI’s Conservation Impact work over the past 10 years and how the science behind well managed forests and sustainable supply chains supports conservation goals.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Project Learning Tree (PLT) are hosting a joint annual conference from June 14-16, in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) announced today that its 2022 Chain of Custody Standard has met the rigorous third-party assessment of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). PEFC is an international organization that endorses national forest certification systems developed collaboratively by diverse stakeholders, tailored to local priorities and conditions. Organizations certified to SFI’s 2022 Chain of Custody standard can now apply the PEFC on-product label and make PEFC claims, giving them more options to meet customer demand around the world.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is pleased to announce that Terry Baker, CEO of the Society of American Foresters (SAF), has been unanimously elected by SFI’s Board of Directors to serve a three-year term as a member of the SFI Board’s Environmental chamber.

SFI announced today that Chief Conservation Officer Paul Trianosky will retire on July 1. Trianosky helped position SFI as an important contributor to forest conservation, and elevated the role that sustainable forest management plays in conversation outcomes. His efforts laid the groundwork for SFI’s focus on the role of forest certification in advancing critical forest values relative to climate change, biodiversity and water.