Pew Sustainable Forestry Certification Initiative

Goal: Evaluate a market-based certification initiative designed to promote environmentally and socially responsible forest management and improve sustainability practices in the U.S. wood products sector.

Growing public concern over forest management and timber harvesting practices led to the development of certification programs that identify wood products sourced from forests managed in environmentally and socially responsible ways. Originally developed in response to unsustainable logging in tropical forests, certification systems were later adapted for use in the United States to encourage improved forestry practices across both public and private lands.

To promote market-driven change, The Pew Charitable Trusts funded several nonprofit organizations to develop and implement certification systems for sustainably produced wood products and to build a network of progressive foresters committed to protecting the ecological values of working forests. Because certification was a relatively new approach in the U.S. forest products sector—including lumber, plywood, engineered wood panels, pulp, and paper—TerrAqua’s evaluation examined: (1) the program’s effectiveness in encouraging sustainable forest management practices; (2) the performance of Pew’s grantees in implementing the certification strategy; (3) potential alternative or complementary approaches to achieving similar conservation outcomes; and (4) the role and influence of associated marketing and outreach campaigns in driving market uptake. The evaluation also considered how these initiatives interacted with existing forestry laws, regulations, professional practices, and evolving market forces.

Client: The Pew Charitable Trusts

TerrAqua’s role: Evaluation team member