Read the latest blog post on goodforforests.com.  Jason Metnick, SFI Senior Director of Market Access and Product Labeling, recaps his recent radio interviews discussing the impact of the USGBC’s current certified wood credit policy on North American lumber.

I recently had the pleasure of taking part in a series of radio interviews across the U.S. to explain the importance of opening LEED to all credible forest certification standards. The reporters and talk show hosts I spoke to were very engaged and concerned about the impact on their states. This was the case on stations from Arkansas to Michigan to Oregon to Mississippi, and places in between.

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Read the latest blog post on goodforforests.com. Nadine Block, who manages Government Outreach for SFI, gives an overview of the White House Forum on Federal Leadership and Sustainable Building she recently attended.

I recently had the honor of participating in a White House Forum on Federal Leadership and Sustainable Building.

A number of Administration leaders spoke, including Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and the Government Services Administration Administrator Martha Johnson. Following the speeches, there were multiple panel discussions centered on sustainable building issues. Topics discussed included the role of public-private partnerships, as well as the role of government in incentivizing green building.

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Read the latest blog post on goodforforests.com.  Nadine Block, who manages Government Outreach for SFI, shares announcement of world-wide support for USGBC to open its LEED standard.

The call for a change in the LEED standard is truly global.  Twelve nations have urged USGBC to end LEED’s discrimination against wood and accept all credible forest certification standards.

In a July 22nd press release, the international non-profit Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), a leading umbrella organization that endorses national forest certification systems, stated:  “Standards from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, the Slovak Republic, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with forest industry associations and companies from many of these countries, have joined North American elected and government officials, professional foresters and other leaders who have told USGBC that  in order to increase the use of wood in buildings, all credible certification systems, including PEFC and FSC, need to be accepted.”

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Forest certification standards from twelve nations have called on the USGBC to end its discrimination against wood and accept all credible sustainable forest certification standards. The certification programs pointed out that wood is one of the best environmental choices for construction the best environmental choices for construction, as long as it is from a responsible source – and that fibre certified to the 26 national forest certification programs recognized by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) meets this demand.

Currently, the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating tool only recognizes wood certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. The USGBC is involved in a process to evaluate forest certification programs, and recently released a fourth round of draft benchmarks for public comments.

“Less than 10 per cent of the world’s forests are certified, yet LEED does not recognize the more than two thirds of the world’s certified forests that meet PEFC’s Sustainability Benchmarks,” said PEFC International Secretary General Ben Gunneberg. “The United Nations has warned that by giving exclusive recognition to one forest certification brand, green building standards may help drive demand for these brands at the expense of wider appreciation for the environmental merits of wood.”

Standards from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, the Slovak Republic, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with forest industry associations and companies from many of these countries, have joined North American elected and government officials, professional foresters and other leaders who have told USGBC that in order to increase the use of wood in buildings, all credible certification systems, including PEFC and FSC, need to be accepted.

More than 5,800 people from around the world, including countries such as Australia, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Malaysia, Spain and the United Kingdom, have signed an on-line petition (www.ipetitions.com/petition/leed) posted by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program, a PEFC member that has forests across Canada and the United States certified to its forest management standard.

Non-profit PEFC is an umbrella organization that endorses national forest certification systems developed through multi-stakeholder processes and tailored to local priorities and conditions that meet PEFC’s rigorous requirements. About 543 million acres/220 million hectares are certified to national standards endorsed by PEFC, and none are eligible for the LEED credit. This includes the 377 million acres/152 million hectares – about 68 per cent of the total – located in North America.

Mr. Gunneberg said today that USGBC must recognize the benefits of building with wood if it wants to demonstrate environmental leadership. “This means encouraging the use of wood through LEED by allowing credits for wood certified to all standards recognized by PEFC and FSC, and by increasing the number of credits builders can score for using timber,” he said. “To qualify for one LEED credit, wood must comply with 81 individual benchmarks – something no other building material is required to demonstrate.”

Buildings are of fundamental importance in the climate change debate as they account for almost 40 per cent of the total carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. Studies estimate that carbon dioxide emissions wood-based buildings are 20 to 50 per cent lower than emissions associated with comparable steel- or concrete-based buildings.

Antonio Brunori, National Secretary of PEFC Italy, told USGBC his organization has been working since 2001 to promote wood from responsibly managed sources as one of the best environmental choices for construction. “If the USGBC wants to demonstrate real leadership it will finally do the right thing and accept all credible forest certification programs, allowing builders and architects choice when it comes to building sustainably,” he said.

Some of the certification programs noted that green building rating tools in their countries promote the use of wood by accepting all credible certification programs. “The Green Building Council of Australia made the right decision when it determined that both the FSC and PEFC satisfy the essential criteria identified as necessary to be eligible for its Green Star Timber credit,” said Kayt Watts, Chief Executive Officer of the Australia Forestry Standard Ltd. “It’s time for the U.S. Green Building Council to do the same.”

Further Information
PEFC is the world’s largest forest certification system and the certification system of choice for small- and family-forest owners. An international non-profit, non-governmental organization, PEFC is dedicated to promoting Sustainable Forest Management through independent third-party certification. More info: www.pefc.org

Contact
Thorsten Arndt
Head of Communications
PEFC International

Tel: +41 22 799 4540
Email: info@pefc.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 15, 2010

Contact: Sue McMillan

SFI Director, Marketing

778-433-2144

Pressure Mounts on USGBC to Open LEED to SFI, Other Credible Standards

Members of Congress Weigh In as USGBC Receives Petition with Nearly 6,000 Signatures

WASHINGTON – In a letter steered by Congressmen Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to the U.S. Green Building Council, 79 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing 35 different states, have urged the organization to “accept all credible forest certification systems for qualification under the LEED rating system” including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. On the heels of the letter from this bipartisan group of Members of Congress, USGBC today received a petition with nearly 6,000 signatories calling for LEED recognition of all “wood and paper products certified to independent, respected and credible standards including SFI, ATFS, CSA, FSC, and PEFC.” In addition, six members of Congress have sent their own letters urging an inclusive LEED policy.

“From the halls of Congress to other elected officials across North America to architects, builders, family tree farmers and forestry and sustainability experts around the world, the support for a change in LEED has grown exponentially,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI Inc.). “Wood should be recognized for its environmental merits, and third-party certified forest products should be given additional credit.”

More than three quarters of certified forests in North America are certified to standards not currently recognized by USGBC. The letter from the House members states that maintaining the status quo will mean builders seeking LEED certification “would be discouraged to use third-party certified SFI and ATFS products” grown in the U.S., while opening LEED to other forest certification programs “could stimulate the market for American produced forest products and the communities and jobs that depend on both.” In a letter to USGBC President Rick Fedrizzi that was delivered with the SFI petition, Abusow wrote that it has “stimulated a tremendous outpouring of support, tapping into a broad and diverse community” and that “it’s difficult to ignore the voices of almost 6,000 people from around the world who took the time to respond.”

U.S. Governors and Canadian Officials Support Opening LEED

In addition to the petition signers and Members of Congress, 10 U.S. Governors – representing Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Oregon, Virginia and Washington – have written letters to the USGBC to voice their concerns over the current approach to wood product certification. The Canadian Council of Forest Ministers as well as individual provincial ministers have also written letters to the USGBC to show their support for all credible forest certification standards. To see a complete summary of the professional organizations and governments that have chimed in on this issue, visit sfiprogram.org/leed.

Global Recognition of Multiple Credible Certification Standards

Numerous green building rating systems around the globe have recognized all credible forest certification programs. This includes ANSI/ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard, ANSI/GBI Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings, Built Green Canada, CASBEE in Japan, BREEAM in the United Kingdom and the Australian Green Building Council’s Green Star Program. In addition, green building codes, including the draft International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and ASHRE 189.1, also recognize multiple forest certification programs.

“The road through the USGBC review process has not been short or uncomplicated, and in the end, we hope the organization gets past this outdated process and the politics around the LEED forest certification policy. For the sake of our forests, our communities, the tens of thousands of family foresters who make their livelihoods from forestry, and the future of green building across North America and globally, it is time for USGBC to do the right thing and recognize all credible forest certification standards, including SFI, ATFS, PEFC, CSA and FSC,” said Abusow. “It’s what other green building programs and codes globally already have applied. Multiple forest certification programs push each other to do better, and they serve different needs.”

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About SFI Inc.

SFI Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, and is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program (sfiprogram.org), that is internationally recognized and among the largest in the world. It is one of the fastest-growing forest certification programs with close to 200 million acres/80 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. SFI chain-of-custody certification tracks certified, uncertified and recycled content as applicable in the product. The SFI forest standard is endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, 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.

Read the latest blog post on goodforforests.com.  Nadine Block, who manages Government Outreach for SFI, shares news about Congressional support to open USGBC’s LEED green building rating system.

Members of Congress have joined with 10 U.S. governors, adding their voices to the thousands calling for an open LEED rating system.  A bipartisan letter signed by 79 members of the House of Representatives was sent toMr. Rick Fedrizzi, president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council, urging the USGBC to “expedite the review of forest management certification systems and to accept all credible forest management certification systems for qualification under the LEED rating system.”  The effort was initiated by Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), both members of the House Agriculture Committee, which oversees forestry issues.  The letter brings to light that if the LEED rating system maintains the status quo and does not recognize the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), many builders who seek LEED certification will be discouraged from using SFI and ATFS-certified products grown in the United States.

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Read the latest blog post on goodforforests.com.  Kathy Abusow,  provides an update on the petition to open the LEED rating system to all credible forest certification programs.

Today SFI delivered nearly 6,000 petition signatures and hundreds of comments to President, CEO & Founding Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council Rick Fedrizzi urging the organization to open LEED. Our petition helps demonstrate what we already suspected—there’s a broad base of supporters who are deeply committed and passionate about responsible forest management, green building and the communities that depend on these forests.

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