Article Number : 5069 |
|
Article Detail |
|
 | |
| Date | 11/18/2009 9:22:14 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=5069 |
| Abstract | The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) closed the public comments forum for the second draft of changes on how the LEED Green Building Rating System awards points for the use of certified wood on Oct. 14. The new credit language would... |
| Article | The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) closed the public comments forum for the second draft of changes on how the LEED Green Building Rating System awards points for the use of certified wood on Oct. 14. The new credit language would consider wood products certified by entities other than the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). As USGBC’s benchmark organization, FSC provides chain-of-custody certification to ensure products used were derived from certified forests. It tracks the flow of certified wood through the supply chain and across borders through each successive stage—including processing, transformation and manufacturing— all the way to the final product. Since its inception in 2000, USGBC has only recognized FSC certified products for points in its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. “The impact of USGBC opening up its rules to other certifications will highly contribute to more LEED projects that will use wood as a building material in all aspects of construction,” said Luc Robitaille, vice president of marketing, Mirage/BoaFranc. “While FSC is an important wood certification process, more and more wood certification programs are now being developed. As long as they can also meet the stringent standards USGBC imposes, it is only good practice to accept them as well within the LEED program.” One of the strongest candidates for consideration is the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), an organization that focuses on sustainable forest management for industrial operations in the U.S. and Canada. “USGBC is falling behind other green building programs that use forest certification as a tool to source and build responsibly—unlike USGBC, they give builders, architects and others choices,” said Kathy Abusow, SFI’s president and CEO. “It’s not too late for USGBC to seek a way forward that provides leadership on the issue of sustainability and uses forest certification as a driver to support responsible forestry and as an example for other building product materials to follow.” Similar programs include American Tree Farm System (ATFS) for family forest landowners between 100 acres and 20,000 acres, the Canadian Standards Association which monitors sustainable forest management, tracking and labeling of lumber, as well as the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes, which provides recognition framework for national certification standards. Many in the flooring industry say the expansion would benefit all parties involved in socially responsible construction, from the grower to the end user, by increasing product availability. “Most floors in the U.S. are not FSC certified,” said Ed Korczak, executive director and CEO of the National Wood Flooring Association. “When [a LEED project] requires FSC-certified oak flooring, in most cases, it is not possible because there is not enough out there.” |