Kathy Abusow of Sustainable Forestry Initiative

As a provider of Chain of Custody certification, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) tracks fiber on its journey from forests to the printers. In this episode of On Paper, Kathy Abusow, President & CEO of SFI discusses their role in promoting responsible forestry.

“What we want the world to know is that you can look for the SFI label on a product and know that that product comes from a well-managed forest,” says Abusow.

Kathy Abusow is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI Inc.), the fully independent, non-profit organization responsible for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program. The SFI program is a comprehensive and rigorous sustainable forestry certification system that encompasses more than 143 million certified acres in the U.S. and Canada and includes over 200 program participants.

Before joining SFI, Inc., Kathy operated Abusow International Ltd., a successful forest certification and market acceptance consultancy for almost 15 years. Highly respected internationally as both a technical expert on certification standards (SFI, CSA, FSC, PEFC) and related marketplace issues such as procurement policy design and green building rating tools acceptance of wood and certified products, she has worked with government and corporate agencies around the world.

Kathy has authored numerous publications related to forest certification, green building and responsible procurement. She has an undergraduate degree from McGill University and a M.A. from Harvard University with a concentration in sustainable development of natural resources.

Once again Earth Day means business. Top environmentally-minded business leaders and the green movement's brightest thinkers will convene in Laguna Niguel, California on April 20-22, 2009 for Fortune magazine's second Brainstorm: GREEN Conference.

Fortune, the world's premier business magazine, is also the quality leader in executive conferences. Extending the magazine's cutting-edge content and exclusive insider access Fortune Conferences bring together the world's business people with government officials and thought leaders. A big-picture focus, innovative formats, peer-level interaction across industries, and attention to detail guarantee a world-class experience for every participant.

A graduate of the Ivy League's Columbia University, Maureen Kedes spent several years as a freelance public relations and advertising writer, and as spokesperson for several major corporations including: Toshiba, Yamaha, Sharp Electronics, Con Agra Foods, and Oxford University Press. Ms. Kedes also worked as a Test Marketing Director at CBS Television and also recently served as Sr. VP of Public Relations at Fortune Broadcasting in West Hollywood.