• Driver of nature change: Land/freshwater/ ocean-use change

    Extent of land/freshwater/ ocean-use change (C1.1)

    Extent of land/freshwater/ocean ecosystem use change (km2) by:

    • Type of ecosystem;76 and
    • Type of business activity.

    Land-use change to report under the core global disclosure metric includes:

    • Conversion of primary forests, naturally regenerated secondary forests and any other areas of high biodiversity value/carbon stock that are not currently managed for productive purposes regardless of the future forest management plans (e.g. conversion of primary forests into plantation forests or other non-forest land- uses).

    For the purposes of the core global disclosure metric:

    • Extent of land-use change should be measured relative to the land cover type present at an established cut-off date (no later than 2020);
    • Business activity refers to core business activities/ stages of the value chain. A forest sector company should follow the same approach as defined in the Forest Sector Group (FSG) Nature Positive  Roadmap: forest production, processing and manufacturing, downstream; and
    • An organisation may provide information additional to the Replace with Global Ecosystem Typology (GET) to define the type of ecosystem, such as regional or local classifications.

    FSC (2023); Afi (2019); WBCSD- FSG (2021)

    76 When disclosing on ecosystem types, refer to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Global Ecosystem Typology.

    OBJECTIVE 1. FOREST MANAGEMENT PLANNING

    Performance Measure 1.2. Certified Organizations shall not convert one forest cover type to another forest cover type unless an assessment has been conducted to determine ecological impacts and provide appropriate justification.

    Indicator 1. Certified Organizations shall not convert one forest cover type to another forest cover type, unless the conversion: a. does not convert native forest cover types that are rare, ecologically important, or that put any native forest cover types at risk of becoming rare;and b. does not create significant adverse impacts on Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value, old growth forests, forest critical to threatened and endangered species, or special sites or ecologically important non-forest eco-systems; and c. includes objectives for long-term outcomes that support maintaining native forest cover types and ecological function; and d. is in compliance with relevant national and regional policy and legislation related to land use and forest management.

    Indicator 2. A proposed conversion deemed appropriate per 1.2.1, and which has considered impacts relative to scale, may be implemented subject to a landscape assessment that considers: a. a response to address forest health issues such as pests or pathogens, or proactive consideration of anticipated impacts of fire or climate change, reforestation challenges, or riparian protection needs, provided that such justification is supported by the best scientific information. b. site productivity, economics, and/or stand quality. c. ecological impacts of the conversion at the site and landscape scale, as well as consideration for any appropriate mitigation measures; and d. appropriate consultation with local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and other stakeholders who could be affected by such activities.

    Performance Measure 1.3. Certified Organizations shall not have within the scope of their certification to this SFI Standard, forest lands that have been converted to non-forest land use.

    Indicator 1. Forest lands converted to other land uses shall not be certified to this SFI standard. This does not apply to forest lands used for forest and wildlife management such as wildlife food plots or infrastructure such as forest roads, log processing areas, trails, etc.

    Performance Measure 1.4. Certified Organizations shall not afforest in locations which negatively impact ecologically important natural communities, threatened and endangered species, or native natural communities which could be at risk of becoming rare.

  • Driver of nature change: Land/freshwater/ ocean-use change

    Extent of land/freshwater/ ocean-use change (C1.1)

    Extent of land/freshwater/ocean ecosystem that is sustainably managed (km2) by:

    • Type of ecosystem; and
    • Type of business activity.

    This metric applies only to land owned/managed/ leased by the organisation.

    For the purposes of the core global disclosure metric: • Sustainably managed refers to the UN FAO definition of sustainable forest management (see glossary); • An organisation may provide information additional to the GET to define the type of ecosystem, such as regional or local classifications; • An organisation should provide additional detail on the type of forest, where applicable (e.g. semi-natural forests); and • Business activity refers to core business activities/stages of the value chain. A forest sector company should follow the same approach as defined in the FSG Nature Positive Roadmap: forest production, processing and manufacturing, downstream.

    WBCSD- FSG (2021)

    77 When disclosing on ecosystem types, refer to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Global Ecosystem Typology.

    OBJECTIVE 1. FOREST MANAGEMENT PLANNING;

    OBJECTIVE 2. FOREST HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVITY

    OBJECTIVE 5. MANAGEMENT OF VISUAL QUALITY AND RECREATIONAL BENEFITS

    Performance Measure 1.1. Certified Organizations shall ensure that forest management plans include long-term harvest levels that are sustainable and consistent with appropriate growth-and-yield models.;

    Indicator 1. Forest management planning at a level appropriate to the size and scale of the operation, including: b. a periodic or ongoing forest inventory; c. a land classification system; e. soils inventory and maps, where available; g. up-to-date maps or a geographic information system (GIS);

    Performance Measure 1.2. Certified Organizations shall not convert one forest cover type to another forest cover type unless an assessment has been conducted to determine ecological impacts and provide appropriate justification.

    Performance Measure 1.3. Certified Organizations shall not have within the scope of their certification to this SFI Standard, forest lands that have been converted to non-forest land use.

    Performance Measure 2.1. Certified Organizations shall promptly reforest after final harvest.

    Indicator 1. Documented reforestation plans, including designation of all harvest areas for either natural, planted, or direct seeded regeneration and prompt reforestation, unless delayed for site-specific environmental or forest health considerations or legal requirements, through planting within two years or two planting seasons, or by planned natural regeneration methods within five years.

    Performance Measure 5.2. Certified Organizations shall manage the size, shape, and placement of clearcut harvests.

    Indicator 1. Average size of clearcut harvest areas does not exceed 120 acres (50 hectares), except when necessary to meet regulatory requirements, achieve ecological objectives or to respond to forest health emergencies or other natural catastrophes.

    Indicator 2. Documentation through internal records of clearcut size and the process for calculating average size.

  • Driver of nature change: Pollution/pollution removal

    Non-GHG air pollutants (C2.4)

    Non-GHG air pollutants (tonnes) by type:

    • Particulate matter (PM2.5 and/or PM10);
    • Nitrogen oxides (NO2, NO and NO3);
    • Volatile organic compounds (VOC or NMVOC);
    • Sulphur oxides (SO2, SO, SO3, SOX); and
    • Ammonia (NH3).

    Additional pollutants to report under the core global disclosure metric include:

    • Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs).

    From the list of pollutants under the core global disclosure metric, an organisation should particularly look to include particulate matter from the combustion of wood fuel from the production stage; and sulphur and nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from processing and manufacturing.

    IFC (2007b); SASB (2018a); SASB (2018b); WRI and WBCSD (2015)

    79 Raw material content: % of virgin fossil-fuel feedstock; % of post-consumer recycled feedstock; % of post-industrial recycled feedstock; % of virgin renewable feedstock.

    OBJECTIVE 10. FIRE RESILIENCE AND AWARENESS

    Performance Measure 10.1 On the forests they own or manage, Certified Organizations shall limit susceptibility to undesirable impacts of wildfire, promote healthy and resilient forest conditions through management techniques, actions and/or policies, and support restoration of forests following wildfire damage.

    Indicator 1. Program to evaluate the risk of undesirable impacts of wildfire and the role of fire on the forests they own or manage.

    Indicator 2. Use of stand and landscape level management techniques, actions and/or policies to promote forest health and resilience, and to mitigate the likelihood of undesirable impacts of wildfire, such as, prescribed fire, cultural burning, thinning, or hazardous fuel reduction where appropriate based on risk.

    Indicator 3. Use of management techniques to address wildfire damage, mitigate negative impacts to water and soils, and to promote forest restoration and future forest resilience.