New UL Standard References SFI as Credible Sustainable Forestry Standard

WASHINGTON and OTTAWA, Nov. 21, 2013 /CNW/ - UL Environment, a business unit of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), has issued a new UL Standard (UL 175) for Sanitary Paper Products that specifically includes the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) among forest certification standards that can be used as evidence that a product meets the "Sustainable Forest Source" or "System for Evidence Sourcing" criteria. Another acceptable certification program cited was the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), which endorses SFI.

"With this new standard, UL Environment joins a growing list of leading organizations who recently announced their recognition of all credible forest certification standards , including SFI," SFI President and CEO Kathy Abusow said. "From the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and The Sustainability Consortium to GreenBlue, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Association of State Foresters, respected authorities agree that all the leading forest certification programs demonstrate adherence to responsible forestry practices."

"We were happy to work with UL Environment to upgrade this Standard's requirements for the sustainable sourcing of fiber, including clearer rules for how to evidence the sourcing of fiber," said Jason Metnick, SFI Vice President for Customer Affairs. "As the North American leader in forest certification, SFI is committed to promoting responsible forestry and sourcing of forest and paper products, including sanitary paper products."

The UL Standard was designed to "improve and/or maintain environmental quality by reducing energy and materials consumption and by minimizing the impacts of pollution generated by the production, use and disposal of goods and services." It covers sanitary paper products, including toilet tissue, facial tissue, table napkins, kitchen towels and hand towels.

UL looked at seven key indicators that include lower energy use, lower emissions, increased landfill diversion, lower emissions of greenhouse gases, responsible management of water use, careful screening of toxicological risks and higher use of recycled content and other sustainable choices.

About Sustainable Forestry Initiative
SFI Inc. is an independent, nonprofit organization that is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the internationally recognized Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) program. Across the United States and Canada, more than 240 million acres/more than 100 million hectares are certified to the SFI forest management standard. In addition, the SFI program's unique fiber sourcing requirements promote responsible forest management on all suppliers' lands. SFI chain-of-custody (COC) certification tracks the percentage of fiber from certified forests, certified sourcing and post-consumer recycled content. SFI on-product labels identify both certified sourcing and COC claims to 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 http://www.sfiprogram.org/ and http://sfiprogram.org/Buy-SFI/.

CONTACT: Monique Hanis, VP, Marketing & Communications, 202-596-3457

SOURCE: The Sustainable Forestry Initiative(R) (SFI(R))

http://www.sfiprogram.org/