Tolko, West Fraser, and Vanderwell have a long history of managing forests to consider all forest values. The SFI Forest Management Standard complements and reinforces the companies' efforts in so many ways, ranging from conserving biodiversity to engaging communities.

Certifying to the SFI Forest Management Standard, the companies demonstrate their commitment to sustainable forest management. The companies are proud to be part of one of the world’s leading forest certification programs.

The SFI Forest Management Standard promotes sustainable forestry practices based on 13 Principles, 15 Objectives, 37 Performance Measures and 101 Indicators. These requirements include measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests with exceptional conservation value. The standard applies to any organization in the United States or Canada that owns or manages forestlands. These organizations must continually evaluate habitat and biodiversity impacts from forest activities — which leads to improved habitat quality, and protection of imperiled or critically imperiled species. The Forest Management Standard is also the only standard that requires participants to support forestry research.

As part of their certification, the companies are required to undergo annual surveillance audits as well as full certification to the SFI 2015-2019 Forest Management Standard every five years. The audits are conducted by independent, accredited certification bodies, and audit summaries are posted on the SFI website.

About the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI) stands for future forests. SFI^® is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting forest sustainability and supporting the links between sustainable forests and communities through grant programs, carefully targeted research, direct leadership of critical initiatives, and partnerships that effectively contribute to multiple conservation objectives. Forests certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard cover more than 280 million acres/113 million hectares. Millions more acres/hectares benefit from the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard. SFI’s Forest Management, Fiber Sourcing and Chain of Custody Standards work to ensure the health and future of forests. Through application of these certification standards, SFI’s on-product labels help consumers make responsible purchasing decisions. SFI Inc. is governed by a three-chamber board of directors representing environmental, social and economic sectors equally. Learn more at sfiprogram.org.