Principles of Sustainable Forestry

• Protection of Water Resources - To protect water bodies and riparian zones, and to conform with best management practices to protect water quality.
• Protection of Biological Diversity - To manage forest in ways that protect and promote biological diversity, including animal and plant species, wildlife habitats, and ecological or natural community types.
• Aesthetics and Recreation - To manage the visual impacts of forest operations, and to provide recreational opportunities for the public.
• Protection of Special Sites - To manage forests and lands of special significance (ecologically, geologically or culturally important) in a manner that protects their integrity and takes into account their unique qualities.
• Responsible Fiber Sourcing Practices in North America - To use and promote among other forest landowners sustainable forestry practices that are both scientifically credible and economically, environmentally and socially responsible.
• Avoidance of Controversial Sources including Illegal Logging in Offshore Fiber Sourcing - To avoid wood fiber from illegally logged forests when procuring fiber outside of North America, and to avoid sourcing fiber from countries without effective social laws.
• Legal Compliance - To comply with applicable federal, provincial, state, and local forestry and related environmental laws, statutes, and regulations.
• Research - To support advances in sustainable forest management through forestry research, science and technology.
• Training and Education - To improve the practice of sustainable forestry through training and education programs.
• Public Involvement - To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry on public lands through  community involvement.
• Transparency - To broaden the understanding of forest certification to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard by documenting certification audits and making the findings publicly available.
• Continual Improvement - To continually improve the practice of forest management, and to monitor, measure and report performance in achieving the commitment to sustainable forestry.