Richard W. (Dick) Brinker

The U.S. Green Building Council is inviting comments on the draft language for its LEED rating system. SFI Inc. has invited views on the treatment of third-party forest certification, which must be “FSC or better” according to the latest USGBC credit language. In this post, Dr. Richard W. (Dick) Brinker, Dean Emeritus, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, and a member of the social chamber of the SFI Board of Directors, looks at how SFI supports logger training.

One way to make sure forests are managed well is to make sure the people on the ground – loggers and landowners – are trained well. Training has been my passion for more than 25 years, and it has been a firm principle of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI^®) since the start.

I’ve conducted and coordinated extension education activities for professional loggers, foresters, and landowners since 1988. And as far as I’m concerned, the creation of SFI was a dream come true – it meant logging professionals, and forests, across the United States and Canada were able to benefit from our work. The Forest Resources Association estimates that since 1995 about 130,000 resource and logging professionals have been trained in responsible forestry through the SFI program or its recognition of other programs.

Training and Education is one of the 14 principles for responsible forestry in the SFI 2010-2014 Standard. Program participants must make sure their staff and contractors are properly trained, and they must be part of a local SFI Implementation Committee to improve training. If they source fiber from uncertified lands, they must encourage the landowner to use qualified professionals.

SFI is the only certification program in North America with these requirements. And it’s making a huge difference. States such as Texas, South Carolina and Tennessee point to it as one reason for consistent improvement in their best management practices to protect water quality.

And while training is important to me, I’ve been privileged to be involved with SFI in many ways. I’m a member of the independent SFI Board of Directors, and from 2002 to 2008 I was part of the SFI External Review Panel. Both of these roles are like having tenure at a university – we are chosen for our knowledge and expertise, and granted the independence and freedom we need to contribute and say what we think. That’s just one of the many strengths of the SFI program.

I’ve seen for myself how training can improve forest practices – and I know that when it comes to training for logging professionals, SFI is far ahead of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Therefore, it meets the “FSC or better” requirements set out in the draft language for the LEED rating system. If the U.S. Green Building Council wants LEED to achieve as much as possible for our forests, and utilize a truly sustainable resource, its credit structure will include SFI certification.

Dr. Brinker was Dean and Professor in of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, from 1998 until his retirement in 2011. During this time, it became one of the most highly regarded and productive natural resource programs in the southern region of the United States.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

I always thought this was the best line in the Dr. Seuss’ 1971 fable, The Lorax, and it is taking on new relevance with the recent release of the movie, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. The good news is that we know a lot more today about sustainable forest management and we have new tools to help us.

In the last 15 years, certification programs like the Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI^®) have strengthened forest practices and raised understanding about what forests mean to us and to our communities and to the wildlife that rely on forests for their survival.  Despite the growth in forest certification in North America, there is a lot more work to be done – with 90 percent of the world’s forests still not certified.

I sure hope the movie advances our efforts by inspiring more people, young and old, to think about our forests and how crucial they are to our lives: from the air we breathe, to the recreational, wildlife and traditional values they support, to the wood to build our homes and for the paper and packaging we use every day.

SFI and its many partners are already showing we “care a whole awful lot” through our forest standard and through our many activities – including forest research like critical habitat for grizzlies, conservation partnerships, logger training and landowner outreach. We’re supporting community activities of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, and the National 4-H Forestry Invitational. But it’s an immense task, and we sure can’t do it alone.

That’s why I welcomed the UN’s International Year of Forests in 2011, why I applaud the efforts of the nation’s State Foresters, and why I am encouraged by a message that is based on hope and renewal. It tells us that forests matter, and we must care for them responsibly. To do that, we need more opportunities for meaningful discussion about how we conserve the health and productivity of our forests. SFI is committed to that mission; our label is a sign of responsible forestry and our commitment is to maintaining our treasured forests for today and into the future.

Who knows what U.S. Green Building Council hopes to achieve with its latest draft language on forest certification in LEED.  The new draft LEED requirement “FSC or better” feels more like a slogan than thoughtful language intended for a green building rating tool – probably because that’s exactly what it is.  Those were the words on buttons worn by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) supporters at the 2011 USGBC GreenBuild show.

USGBC is moving away from science when it comes to forest certification.  While the latest draft language has some new opportunities for life cycle assessment and environmental data which is of relevance to wood, there remains a disconnect in terms of promoting and recognizing wood from responsibly managed forests.  There is a real disconnect when USGBC claims to be a standard that supports market transformation and yet chooses language that can undermine and disadvantage markets for three quarters of the certified forest products from North America.  Healthy markets for products from responsible forests means more forests will be managed responsibly.  Undermining those markets, however, can have numerous consequences, be they intentional or unintentional.

USGBC’s unwavering support for FSC shows it understands the value of third-party forest certification. But it is painting itself into a corner through a credit structure that could enable builders to turn their backs on 75 percent of North America’s certified forests if they want to chase LEED credits for certified wood.  The potential for this to happen is evidenced by FSC’s own 2010 Business value and Growth market survey (page 6) which found: “Nearly half of respondents have sought out an alternative supplier in another country when FSC certified timber or products were not available in their own country.”  USGBC is reinforcing the myth that only one forest certification standard is worth supporting – ignoring the fact respected organizations say otherwise and ignoring the fact that 90 percent of the world’s forests aren’t even certified.

SFI remains committed to ensuring all forest products from responsible sources and certified forests gain equal access to credits in LEED rating tools.  While we agree that the 90% of FSC’s certified forests that are certified outside the US, i.e. outside USGBC’s home turf, should get access to LEED, not for a minute do we believe that these FSC products should get preferential access to LEED certified wood credits over products certified to standards in use in North America, such as SFI, ATFS and CSA – all of which SFI recognizes.

If through the language “FSC or better” USGBC’s aim is to allow credits for certification standards that are better for forests, for other forest values and for forest communities, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI^®) can certainly show we match – and often exceed – FSC requirements.   SFI will post a number of blogs between now and March 20 when the LEED public comment period ends to show how many unique attributes the SFI standard has that supports responsible forestry in communities across North America.  We will show how SFI goes beyond and above the uneven nature of FSC’s varied standards and how SFI focuses on things that matter here at home, such as research, logger training and landowner outreach. But let’s be clear, SFI is a standard that is grounded and founded in North America, that reflects social, economic and environmental priorities that are of relevance here at home – this is our strength and this should not be overlooked.

The decisions USGBC makes today about green building and certification will affect our forests and our communities well into the future. By refusing to be inclusive like other green building rating tools, it diminishes the value of certification and that diminishes the value of our forests.

More to come…

Posted by Allison Welde, SFI Director, Conservation Partnerships

We just launched our 2012 Request for Proposals for the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program, which supports research and outreach to advance responsible forestry. This year we are looking for projects that will strengthen the role of SFI certification in protecting water resources and helping resource managers respond to climate change.

SFI Inc. has invested more than $1.1 million in conservation grants since 2010 – and the amazing response to each of the RFPs shows the value of the program. Unfortunately our success in the first two years means the 2012 budget is limited to $85,000 for new projects. That’s because a lot of the work we supported in 2010 and 2011 involved multi-year projects that are continuing this year – for example, Clemson University is helping South Carolina landowners improve wildlife habitat and Ducks Unlimited Canada is leading development of best practices for forestry roads that protect boreal wetlands.

In addition to our conservation grants, we will invest $35,000 in community grants this year – it will go to identified projects aimed at encouraging young people to get involved in forestry and natural resource activities and careers.

The SFI conservation grant program is such a fantastic way to bring together conservation groups, resource managers and government agencies to address topics of current importance — like water resources and climate change – and build knowledge that will help SFI program participants improve forest practices. More than 125 organizations are partners in the 24 projects we have funded to date, and their involvement is expected to leverage additional resources to achieve a total value of $4.2 million.

The deadline for 2012 applications is Wednesday, March 14, 2012 – the RFP and additional information is posted on the grant website or you can contact me.

Architects and builders can learn more about the benefits of using certified wood in green building thanks to a Continuing Education Unit (CEU) sponsored by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI^®) program. It also demonstrates how government agencies support an inclusive approach to certification and how even LEED Pilot Credit 43 offers an opportunity for SFI-certified wood.

The unit – Certified Wood Branches Out: Forest Certification’s Evolving Role in Green Building Rating Systems – is featured in the January-February 2012  issue of GreenSource Magazine, which is published by McGraw Hill and goes to 45,000 green design and construction professionals.

It reinforces the fact that the green building community is recognizing the value of all forest certification programs equally. This past fall alone, we had Governor Paul LePage’s executive order in Maine, and heard from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Education, and the International Green Construction Code – all recognizing SFI and other credible forest certification standards.

The CEU will be in the McGraw Hill Continuing Education Unit online library throughout 2012, and architects and builders can earn continuing education credits through the American Institute of Architects by reading the article and taking an online test.

Building materials have such a huge impact on the environment, and wood from responsibly managed forests is such a great choice in new construction or renovations. We encourage you to help get the CEU into the hands of builders, architects, designers, and specifiers so they can see that third-party forest certification standards like SFI offer a proof point that the forest has been managed for multiple values.

Read the full CEU here.

Download the full CEU as a PDF here:
CEU: Certified Wood Branches Out — Forest Certification’s Evolving Role in Green Building Rating Systems