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Sustainable Forestry Certification Programs
Forest management certification programs establish rigorous, voluntary standards that
encourage environmentally responsible forestry practices and promote the sustainability of
forest resources. Certification to these standards includes an independent, third-party audit
of forest planning and management practices to an agreed-upon set of criteria. Forest
certification standards address social and economic values as well as environmental
protection. Only about 10% of the world's forests are certified to a credible forest certification
standard.
Chain of custody certification verifies that organizations have the systems and processes in
place to be able to track certified fiber as it moves from the forest through the supply chain.
American Tree Farm System® (ATFS)
The
American Tree Farm System works to sustain forests, watershed and healthy
wildlife habitats through the power of private stewardship by offering
affordable forest certification for family forest landowners in the United
States. The ATFS forest management standard requires that certified family
forests meet eight standards of sustainability and are managed for multiple
purposes: water, wildlife, wood and recreation. ATFS offers three opportunities
for certification: through State Tree Farm Committee programs, through
independently managed group certification programs and through individual
third-party certification. As a program recognized by the Programme for the
Endorsement of Forest Certification, lands certified by ATFS are a principle
source of fiber for the SFI and PEFC chain of custody programs.
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Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
The Canadian Standards Association, a non-profit membership-based organization, worked with a diverse range of stakeholders to develop Canada's national standard for sustainable forest management (CAN/CSA-Z809). For lands to be certified to this standard, forest managers must follow six broad criteria developed by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers as part of an international process to create global criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. These criteria are broken down into 35 mandatory core indicators. The CSA standard engages local public advisory committees to assist in the development of indicators and targets for each criterion. This broad public participation process differentiates CSA from other forest certification standards and reflects the Canadian forest situation where more than 93% of forests are publicly owned. The CSA standard is overseen by a technical committee comprised of forest producers, scientists, academics, government representatives, Aboriginal people, labor unions, consumers and environmentalists. There is also a CSA chain of custody standard, and CSA offers on-product labels for products that meet specific chain of custody criteria. CSA has also recently published standard CAN/CSA-Z804-08 - Sustainable
Forest Management for Woodlots and Other Small Area Forests which has been endorsed by PEFC and
is recognized by the SFI chain-of-custody system.
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Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC®)
The Forest Stewardship Council is a global, fully independent, non-profit organization established to promote environmentally appropriate, socially acceptable and economically viable management of the world's forests. FSC-US was established in 1995 as the FSC national chapter in the United States. FSC-US has a national presence through the work of its board of directors, members, staff and regional standards coordinators. FSC developed a set of principles and criteria for forest management that is applicable to all FSC-certified forests throughout the world. These principles and criteria address legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits and environmental impacts related to forest management. There is also an FSC chain of custody standard, and FSC offers on-product labels for products that meet specific chain of custody criteria.
www.fscus.org |  |
Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) Inc.
SFI Inc. is a fully independent, non-profit organization represented by
a board of directors represents environmental, social and economic interests
equally. SFI that works with landowners, conservation organizations, resource
professionals, scientists, local communities and many other groups and
individuals to encourage responsible forest management in the US and Canada.
The SFI forest management program represents the single largest certification
standard in the world, and is globally recognized as supporting responsible
forest management and legality. The forest certification standard was developed
specifically to address forest management activities in North America. As the
only North American-based forest certification standard, the SFI Standard plays
an important role in promoting responsible forest management in the US and
Canada. The 2010-2014 Standard includes 14 core principles that promote
sustainable forest management, including measures to protect water quality,
biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests with exceptional
conservation value. The standard also includes 20 objectives, 38 performance
measures and 115 indicators that were developed by professional foresters, conservationists,
scientists and others. SFI also addresses local needs through a unique network
of SFI State Implementation Committees. There is also an SFI chain of custody
standard, and SFI offers on-product labels for products that meet specific
chain of custody criteria. SFI Chain of Custody recognizes CSA and ATFS fibre,
meaning 75% of all the certified fibre in North America is recognized by SFI. www.sfiprogram.org |  |
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC™)
The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization. The world's largest forest certification system, PEFC is an umbrella organization that endorses national forest certification systems that are developed through multi-stakeholder processes and tailored to local priorities and conditions. Currently, PEFC has about 30 independent national forest certification systems as members, all of which have completed a rigorous third-party assessment against PEFC sustainability benchmarks to assure consistency with international requirements. In North America, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®), Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and American Tree Farm System® (ATFS) certification systems are recognized by PEFC. There is also a PEFC chain of custody standard, and PEFC offers on-product labels for products that meet specific chain of custody criteria.
www.pefc.org | 
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