sfi update forest legality alliance meeting may 7, 2014
TRANSCRIPT
Outline
• SFI Introduction
• How SFI Addresses Legality
• Meeting EUTR Requirements
• SFI Standard Review Process
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32 PEFC Endorsed National
Certification Systems 30 FSC Approved Standards
Russia
U.S.
UK
Global Context
SFI’s Global Position
• 98% of the fiber sourced by SFI program participants
for their North American facilities comes from the U.S.
or Canada
• Yet illegal logging is a critical global issue that SFI is
addressing through:
– Partnerships/tools
– Key requirements in our standard
– Support for regulation
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Working with Partners
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• SFI awarded $90K grant to WRI to support
the Forest Legality Risk Tool, also
supported by USAID and others.
• Open access, map-based, global
information hub designed to assist users in
conducting due diligence on forest trade.
• Tool was publicly launched June 2012
• Useful not just for SFI Program Participants
but for whole marketplace
Number of grants awarded since 2010 33
SFI investment $1.3 million
Total value with partner contributions $4.8 million
SFI Conservation Grants
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SFI 2010-2014 Standard
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• Legal compliance continues to be a foundation (Objective 14)
• Specific requirements related to offshore fiber sourcing (Objectives 11, 12, 13)
• Board policy on illegal logging
SFI Standard
Objective 14. Legal and Regulatory Compliance.
• Compliance with applicable federal,
provincial, state and local forestry and
related social and environmental laws and
regulations… in the country in which the
Program Participant operates
SFI Standard
Objective 12. Avoidance of Controversial Sources
including Illegal Logging.
• Performance Measure 12.1. Program Participants
shall ensure that their fiber sourcing programs
support the principles of sustainable forestry,
including efforts to thwart illegal logging.
• Indicators include: risk assessment, risk mitigation,
promotion of sustainable forestry, documented
information
SFI Standard
Objective 13. Avoidance of Controversial Sources
including Fiber Sourced from Areas without
Effective Social Laws.
• Performance Measure 13.1. Program Participants shall avoid
controversial sources and encourage socially sound practices.
• Indicators address risk related to
– workers’ health and safety;
– fair labor practices;
– indigenous peoples’ rights;
– anti-discrimination and anti-harassment measures;
– prevailing wages; and
– workers’ right to organize
SFI Policy
SFI developed policy in 2008 – designed to consider the full set of operations of program participants.
• “SFI Inc. will not license any person or entity to use SFI’s trademarks or labels, and SFI may revoke any license previously granted, if the proposed licensee or an Affiliate of the licensee has been found to have engaged in Illegal Logging by a government authority in the jurisdiction where the logging occurred…”
• “…or if the evidence available to SFI supports a conclusion that…the proposed licensee or an Affiliate of the licensee has engaged in a pattern of Illegal Logging…even if the licensee has not been subject to government enforcement actions…”
Forest Certification in a
Regulatory Context
Evidence of legality and sustainability can be… independent certification of the timber and timber products by any of the forest certification schemes that meet the policy requirements (such as FSC and PEFC)
- Central Point of Expertise on Timber Procurement (CPET)
“In order to recognize good practice in the forestry sector, certification or other third party verified schemes that include verification of compliance with applicable legislation may be used in the risk assessment procedure.”
- EU Timber Regulation
EU Timber Regulation
NEWS RELEASE: SFI APPLAUDS EU’S NEW ILLEGAL LOGGING RULES
FOREST CERTIFICATION WILL BE A KEY TOOL IN EFFORTS TO CRACK DOWN ON ILLEGAL LOGGING
EU Timber Regulation
SFI Standard addresses criteria for certification systems laid out in European Commission Implementing Regulation (July 2012) and Guidance (February 2013):
• Publicly available system of requirements
• Third-party audits by independently accredited certification bodies
• Tracking fiber through supply chain
• Ensure illegally harvested timber does not enter the supply chain
• Compliance with international standards
• No substantiated reports about problems with schemes
EU Timber Regulation
“Introduction of the EUTR represents a significant shift
in Europe towards a management systems approach to
environmental procurement – an approach that the SFI
Program pioneered well over a decade ago. Through
SFI’s fibre sourcing requirements, the SFI program
stands apart from other forest certification programs by
addressing the fact that all forest landowners play a
critical role in the long-term health and sustainability of
forests — and that 90 percent of the world’s forests are
not certified.”
- Rupert Oliver, Forest Industries Intelligence Limited
Development of the SFI 2015-
2019 Standard and CoC
• Begins in June 2013, 18 month process
• Two public comment periods
• 10 public workshops
• Addresses: – forest management
– fiber sourcing
– chain of custody
• Process completed in December 2014
• New standard will be effective January 1, 2015
Standard Revision Workshops
• September 17, 2013, San Antonio, TX (at SFI Annual Conference)
• November 2013, Washington DC
• January 2014, Vancouver, BC
• January 2014 Edmonton, AB
• January 2014, Portland, OR
• February 2014, Charlotte, NC
• February 2014, Memphis, TN
• February 2014, Quebec City, QC
• February 2014, Portland, ME
• March 2014, Minneapolis, MN
Exact locations and dates to be announced in June