The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Habitat for Humanity Canada are
helping to put a roof over the heads of Canadian families in need by strengthening their memorandum of mutual support known as Wood 4 Good, through two separate programs: Waste Not Want Not and Habitat Canada’s Aboriginal Housing Program.
Wood 4 Good encourages local home building through SFI’s grassroots network, increases awareness of sourcing wood products certified to the SFI standards, and helps make supply chains more efficient. The partnership also works to encourage collaborative solutions to support Aboriginal housing in Canada. To that end, SFI announced today a commitment to support Habitat for Humanity Canada’s Aboriginal Housing Program which to date has enabled 119 Aboriginal families to realize their dream of affordable homeownership.
Waste Not Want Not, the latest enhancement to SFI’s Wood 4 Good program, is a supply chain solution designed to provide SFI building materials to Habitat affiliates. It is a simple way for organizations certified to SFI Standards to redirect discontinued inventory, shipment error, lightly damaged products, or other products that are usable but require liquidation. Habitat arranges to pick up the inventory, eliminating a logistics challenge for the supplier.
“We are excited to see SFI continue to expand its formal commitment to help Habitat for Humanity. SFI’s efforts to find new sources of building materials send a strong signal to our mutual network of supporters that we want to deepen and strengthen this important relationship,” said Mark Rodgers, President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Canada. “We also appreciate SFI’s commitment to our Aboriginal Housing Program. Habitat for Humanity Canada is one of the very few non-profit housing organizations actively engaged in making a difference in Aboriginal communities and now SFI is a partner in that effort.”
“These are win-win programs. Through supporting programs like Aboriginal Housing, SFI and Habitat Canada are addressing pressing social issues like aboriginal housing head on through new approaches that make a difference in the quality of lives and basic human dignity,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc. “Through Waste Not Want Not, Habitat gets a new source of building products and deserving families get one step closer to an affordable home.” Abusow was a feature speaker at Habitat for Humanity Canada’s annual general meeting today.
SFI has made a three-year financial commitment to support the Aboriginal Housing Program which is also made possible by founding partner Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and supporters Tachane Foundation, RBC Foundation and Enbridge.
The SFI community has helped build homes in Halifax, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Alderville, Oakville, Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, three of which have been for Aboriginal families. These efforts have included countless volunteer hours and utilized building materials certified to SFI such as panel products, lumber and engineered wood products, which the SFI community is well positioned to provide. In Canada alone, there are 56 companies certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard and 92 companies certified to the SFI Chain of Custody Standard. This vast network of program participants are a key part of why grassroots community projects like the Habitat for Humanity initiatives are a success.