The Wonderful World of Forest Certification
Unlike FSC, SFI concentrates mostly on forest management practices, without concentration on indigenous people’s or forest community’s rights, although any schema that protects endangered forests is better than no management system at all.
Because of SFI’s concentration in just this one area, corporate America hasn’t adopted SFI as it does FSC, due to the lack of socio-economic components. In addition, SFI allows practices forbidden by the FSC, such as genetic modification, just one of several forest management applications where there are differing viewpoints about effect on the environment.
Vic Nathan Barkin has more than 35 years of experience in the printing, paper and wood products industries and currently owns a consulting practice specializing in business development, workflow, and technology implementation, focusing on “Green Procurement and Production” practices. Vic is a QMS Lead Auditor certified to ISO 9001:2008 standards, is a consultant for the Rainforest Alliance as an FSC Chain of Custody and Controlled Wood senior auditor, is an FSC, SFI and PEFC lead auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers and SGS North America, and has engaged in more than 700 site assessments and audits.
