Canada’s biggest certifier of sustainable forests faces greenwashing accusations

By Natasha Bulowski
The National Observer
December 23, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Canadian environmental groups have levelled a greenwashing complaint at [the Sustainable Forestry Initiative], the largest certification scheme for sustainable forestry in North America. …In a complaint filed to Competition Bureau Canada, environmental groups allege the SFI’s claims of sustainability are “false and misleading” because it has “no rules requiring that logging meet prescribed sustainability criteria nor any on-the-ground assessment to confirm sustainability.” …The environmental law charity filed the complaint on behalf of eight environmental organizations including Greenpeace Canada. …The bureau has yet to decide whether to open an inquiry. “We welcome any scrutiny into our program,” SFI’s Jason Metnick, said. “At the heart of this inquiry is whether SFI’s standards require outcomes-based impact to make sustainability statements. The answer is absolutely yes”. The complaint says otherwise… SFI certification is a “management systems-based standard”… you need a “performance-based standard.” [to access the full story a National Observer subscription may be required]

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