2009 SFI Annual Conference

SFI - 2010 and Beyond

Nashville, TN
September 22-24, 2009

The 14th annual SFI Inc. conference – “SFI Program – 2010 and Beyond” – explored issues such as green building, responsible procurement, and ecosystem services, and offered a preview of the draft revised SFI 2010-2014 Standard, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2010.

More than 200 delegates represented every link of the forest supply chain, including small and large landowners, government, professional foresters, conservation groups, academia, aboriginal communities, auditors, buyers, forest products companies and biologists.

During the conference, Larry Selzer, President and CEO of The Conservation Fund, won the first Dr. Sharon Haines Memorial Award for Innovation and Leadership in Sustainability, sponsored by SFI and International Paper. Others recognized for conservation or communication activities included International Forest Products Ltd. (Interfor), Crown Pine Timber LP, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Irving Consumer Products, and the Maine SFI Implementation Committee.

The SFI program will head into 2010 with a revised standard so it can continue to support responsible forest management and address the growing market interest in products from these forests. President and CEO Kathy Abusow ended the conference by telling delegates: “The strength of the SFI program is our work on the ground, through community and conservation partners, training programs, research and outreach. In 2010, we will build on this through our revised standard and increased emphasis on conservation partnerships so we can continue to support responsible forest management across North America.”

SFI Inc. wishes to thank the delegates, speakers, sponsors and everyone else who made the 2009 annual conference a great success.