iLevel, Weyerhaeuser’s integrated residential framing business, providing both products and unified building solutions, has now achieved SFI certification at 37 of its mills across North America. Weyerhaeuser is among the largest wood producers in the world, manufacturing engineered wood products and solid sawn lumber.

“iLevel and Weyerhaeuser have long been committed to green building, and operating our facilities and managing our forests in environmentally responsible ways,” says Susan Swirsley, director of marketing services for iLevel. “SFI certification plays a critical role in our environmental policy, and empowers our customers to make educated environmental choices when they buy wood products for structural framing.”

With more than 160 million acres (65 million hectares) certified across North America, the independent SFI sustainable forestry certification program is one of the largest in the world, with a standard based on principles and measures that promote responsible environmental behavior and sound forest management including measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk, and forests of exceptional conservation value.

All 41 of the iLevel mills are certified to either SFI fiber sourcing certification, which means they have a certified procurement system to ensure the wood comes from responsible sources; or SFI or PEFC chain-of-custody certification, which means they have a tracking system in place to identify the amount of wood fiber originating from forests certified to the SFI, Canadian Standards Association, or American Tree Farm System standards.

By achieving SFI certification, iLevel by Weyerhaeuser joins a growing community of companies, landowners, and social and environmental organizations all committed to improving forest practices on a global scale. All of Weyerhaeuser’s forest operations in the United States and Canada are independently certified to sustainable forestry standards, including more than 6 million acres (2.57 million hectares) to the SFI 2005-2009 Standard.

Earlier this year, iLevel products became the first to receive the Green Approved product seal of approval from the NAHB Research Center. The mark aims to provide third-party evidence that building products meet specific scoring criteria for homes seeking certification to the National Green Building Standard, a consensus-developed standard recently approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

About SFI Inc.

SFI Inc. is a 501c(3) non-profit charitable organization, and is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program (www.sfiprogram.org), that is internationally recognized and among the largest in the world. It is one of the fastest-growing forest certification programs with over 160 million acres (65 million hectares) of SFI-certified forests across North America. The SFI Standard also includes unique fiber sourcing requirements that promote responsible forest management on all suppliers’ lands and a chain-of-custody certification, which is used to tell buyers how much certified fiber is in a specific product. The SFI forest standard is endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes, a global umbrella organization that has strict requirements for endorsement. SFI Inc. is governed by a three-chamber board of directors representing environmental, social, and economic sectors equally.

About iLevel by Weyerhaeuser

iLevel (www.ilevel.com) is Weyerhaeuser’s integrated residential framing business providing seamless, unified building solutions. By offering the most comprehensive and innovative collection of proven structural framing materials, technical support and software in the building industry, and the means to distribute them efficiently, iLevel is leading the structural frame market and helping builders and dealers succeed in today’s challenging business environment.

About Weyerhaeuser

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world’s largest forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 2008, sales were USD 8 billion. It has offices or operations in 10 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate construction and development. Additional information about Weyerhaeuser’s businesses, products, and practices is available at http://www.weyerhaeuser.com.