The Sustainable Forestry Initiative announced recently its forest certification standard has met the third-party assessment of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
"PEFC International's endorsement reinforces our position as an internationally respected programme with tough requirements to strengthen forest practices and support communities across North America," said SFI President and CEO Kathy Abusow. "We are proud to be recognized by PEFC, and to be part of a global network with national members in 34 countries who share our commitment to sustainable forest management."
Independent, non-profit SFI Inc. manages the largest single forest standard in the world – the 195 million acres/79 million hectares certified to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard in North America account for one-third of PEFC's total certified area. The PEFC endorsement means fibre from SFI-certified forests will continue to be accepted as certified content for both PEFC and SFI Chain of Custody labels.
PEFC is an umbrella organization that endorses national forest certification systems developed collaboratively by diverse stakeholders, and tailored to local priorities and conditions. To date, PEFC has recognized certification standards in 29 countries, accounting for about 602 million acres/244 million hectares of certified forests. The endorsement process involves an independent expert assessment and a 60-day public comment period before recommendations are made to the PEFC board and its members. Forests certified to standards endorsed by PEFC are inspected annually by independent auditors.
"The SFI programme is an important certification programme in addressing the unique needs of North America's forests and communities, and it is an important contributor to working with PEFC to address the challenges facing forests globally," said PEFC Secretary General Ben Gunneberg. "Only forest certification schemes like SFI that meet our rigorous meta-standard and are developed in an open, transparent manner through a multi-stakeholder process are endorsed by PEFC."
