PEFC approves the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Chain of Custody Standard.

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WASHINGTON AND OTTAWA, May 24, 2022 (GlobeNewswire) – The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) today announced that its 2022 Chain of Custody has met the rigorous third-party evaluation of the program for standard forest certification (PEPEFC). PEFC is an international body that approves national forest certification systems developed in collaboration with various stakeholders to suit local priorities and conditions. Companies certified in SFI’s 2022 Chain of Custody Standards can now apply PEFC on-product labels and claim PEFC, giving them more options to meet customer demand around the world.

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“SFI is an important contributor to meeting the needs of North America’s forests and communities and working with PEFC to improve the role of sustainable forestry,” said Dr. Michael Berger, PEFC’s acting secretary general. “Only the chain of custody certification standards that meet our strict standards and which are developed in an open, transparent manner through a multi-stakeholder process are approved by PEFC.”

The SFI 2022 Chain of Custody Standard was approved by PEFC during a 60-day international public consultation and after a detailed examination, which included a third party evaluation by an independent evaluator.

“We are extremely proud that PEFC International has approved our 2022 Chain of Custody Standards,” said Kathy Abuso, President and CEO of SFI. “Thanks to this approval, consumers in North America and around the world will be more confident that products bearing the SFI Chain of Custody label come from well-managed, sustainable forests.”

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SFI has more than 600 companies certified in the Chain of Custody Standards and SFI-certified products are sold in more than 120 countries around the world.

SFI will conduct an information session on the benefits of PEFC approval at the 2022 SFI Annual Conference on June 15 in Madison, WI. Interested organizations are encouraged to attend.

About Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)

The goal of SFI is to promote sustainability through forest-based cooperation. Through our work on values, conservation, community and education, we are a sustainable leader and positively impacting diversity, equality and inclusion in the forest sector. We believe that sustainable forests and communities are important for our collective future. As an independent, non-profit organization, we collaborate with our diverse networks to address local and global sustainable challenges. SFI works with conservation groups, forest sector, resource professionals, landowners, academics, local communities, indigenous peoples, governments, universities and brand owners. We leverage the combined strengths and efforts of our network as we actively create space for all communities to meaningfully participate in the journey toward a sustainable future. Learn more at forests.org.

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About the program for Forest Certification (PEFC) approval

PEFC, the Forest Certification Approval Program, is a leading global alliance of national forest certification systems. More than 330 million hectares of forests responsibly supply timber and timber-based products to PEFC’s internationally recognized Sustainability Benchmark, more than 20,000 chain of custody certified companies. For more information, please visit www.pefc.org.

Contact:

David Fokerson
Vice-President, Communications
[email protected]

613-565-0627