Joe Piper receives SFI certifications

Feb. 08, 2010                                                                                                                                           

 Birmingham, AL – As part of a broad commitment to corporate social responsibility, Joe Piper Inc. announced today it has achieved certification to the independent Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI^®) chain-of-custody standard.

•  At Joe Piper Inc. we have a strong commitment to the environment, and so do our customers,” said Ann Piper.  “SFI chain-of-custody certification plays a critical role in our environmental policy, and empowers our customers to make an educated environmental choice about the paperboard products they buy.”
• With SFI chain-of-custody certification Joe Piper Inc. is strengthening our environmental commitment, and helping our customers source responsible forest products,” said Ann Piper.

With more than 160 million acres certified across North America, the non-profit SFI sustainable forestry certification program is one of the largest in the world, with a standard based on principles and measures that promote sound forest management including measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests with exceptional conservation value. Through SFI chain-of-custody certification, companies must have a tracking system in place so they can tell customers the amount of certified, uncertified and recycled content in the forest products they buy, use or sell.

“At a time when just 10 percent of the world’s forests are independently certified, Joe Piper Inc. joins a growing community of companies, landowners, and social and environmental organizations who have demonstrated their environmental commitment and leadership by achieving SFI certification,” said SFI Inc. President and CEO Kathy Abusow. 

·        “Chain-of-custody certification means we will be able to service the increasing market demand for forest products from responsible sources, which is good for our business and good for our forests,” said Ann Piper.

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 program (www.sfiprogram.org), which 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 can communicate to 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.

AIB and SFI certifications.

Joe Piper Inc., paperboard distributor in Birmingham Alabama, announces the awarding of their ninth consecutive Superior rating audit from the American Institute of Baking (AIB). Piper has participated in the AIB certification process since 1999 and has received a Superior rating each year.

Compliance standards for this critical auditing have been heightened by AIB, nationwide, in the past year in order to provide even greater degrees of food packaging safety, housekeeping and material traceability.

Joe Piper Inc is especially proud to have received a Superior rating for 2009, under the newer, higher standards required by AIB.

Ann Piper, president of Joe Piper Inc. says “our company’s participation and achievement in the AIB certification process is a testament to the professionalism, dedication and reliability our people bring to their work.  It is tangible proof that our facilities and operating procedures offer our customers assurance that paperboard they buy from us is handled with the highest degree of safety for food contact and detailed traceability.”    

In addition to the AIB certification, Piper has recently achieved FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification.