Nadine Block, SFI Senior Director of Government Outreach, talks about a recently published op-ed that advocates for an inclusive LEED rating system.

Last week, The Oregonian published an op-ed written by four leaders in Oregon’s forestry community, including State Forester Marvin Brown, who also serves as board chair for SFI. Other signatories include Clint Bentz, David Ford and Steve Wilson. These experts cite benefits for Oregon’s forests, the economy and green building in the state as reasons for supporting the presence of multiple forest certification programs.

They write, “With a lifetime of first-hand experience and extensive background in the application of forest certification programs in our state, we find it bewildering that the Green Building Council has not opened its LEED policy to all credible forest certification programs … In Oregon, our forests and communities benefit from the improvements resulting from the work of all organizations that certify sustainable forest practices.”

The piece also notes support for an inclusive LEED policy from Oregon Representatives Kurt Schrader, Greg Walden and David Wu, and Governor Ted Kulongoski.

We agree—with most of Oregon’s certified forest lands certified by SFI and programs SFI recognizes, such as ATFS, it’s imperative to open the policy to all credible forest certification programs. That’s a trend across the U.S. and Canada, where more than three quarters of our certified forests meet or are recognized by SFI. It’s also critical that the USGBC recognize wood’s superior environmental benefits and encourage the use of wood products in green building.

Read the piece in full, and check out our green building video if you haven’t already. You can see additional support for an inclusive LEED policy on our petition and website.

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.

It was great to see so many high level officials from both the private and public sector come together to collaborate on the future of green building. I really enjoyed being able to take part in this event and am excited to work with the Administration and other stakeholders on this issue as it progresses. If you would like to know more about the forum check out the videos below.

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.”

Approximately 543 million acres are certified to national standards endorsed by PEFC- including 377 million acres in North America alone- none of which are recognized by the USGBC’s LEED standard.

Several of these same countries, along with others, accounted for the more than 5,800 signatures on SFI’s online petition that was delivered to USGBC’s President and CEO, Rick Fedrizzi, Thursday, July 15th.

USGBC must do the right thing.  It is not just North America.  The whole world is watching.

SFI’s Jason Metnick, who works directly with companies in the wood and paper supply chain, headed to the American Institute of Architects Expo 2010 in Miami. The conference is held this year at the Miami Beach Convention Center June 10-12. Check out his coverage of the first day below.

“Design as Exploration” is the theme of the 2010 AIA Expo, and we are thrilled to be a part of it. Responsible building and design are often seen as necessities to many architects and builders, which is a welcome evolution. We want to further that thinking by spreading the word about the role of forest certification and SFI in green building, as well as the overall benefits of using wood as a building material.

Today, SFI premiered a short video outlining the importance of forest certification in green building. Green building represents optimism and growth, and the fact that the industry is growing so quickly means progress in recognizing and using more responsible materials. Wood is renewable, durable and aesthetically pleasing, making it an outstanding resource for building projects. While we are thrilled many architects and builders recognize this fact, we think it’s imperative LEED open its system to all credible forest certification systems, including SFI.

LEED limits itself and the future of green building by only recognizing FSC-certified wood. As Kathy has discussed in previous posts, wood should get credit for being wood-it’s a more responsible choice than other building materials that LEED is crediting. Using wood products from certified forests goes another step above and beyond. Forest certification provides assurance to buyers that they are getting wood and paper products from a responsible source, backed by a rigorous third-party certification audit. However, limiting the forest certification credit to FSC-certified products may discourage builders from using wood at all. We continue to encourage the USGBC to open its LEED rating system to benefit North American forests and the economy.

If you’re at the AIA Expo in Miami, stop by booth #1892 and the film festival to say hello and learn more about what SFI has to offer. You can also follow SFI happenings from AIA on Twitter . For continual updates on potential changes to LEED, go to www.sfiprogram.com/leed.

Built Green Canada: Inclusive – and Expanding

The fact non-profit Built Green Canada is expanding across Canada is wonderful news for anyone who views wood as a great environmental choice – the Built Green™ program is one of many green rating tools with an inclusive certification policy.

And when it updated its building product catalogue at the end of March, Built Green made it crystal clear it recognizes wood or wood-based products certified to all of the third-party certification programs used in Canada – the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the Canadian Standards Association, the Forest Stewardship Council and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification system.

That means builders across Canada seeking Built Green certification are not limited in wood choices like they are under the LEED program, which is currently reassessing whether to open up its certification credit. They will have access to more wood from responsible choices, which means a lot when only 10 per cent of the world’s forests are certified. Built Green Canada joins programs around the world such as the ANSI National Home Building Standard, ANSI/GBI 01-2010: Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings, and BREEAM in England that recognize all credible forest certification programs.

Built Green has already enrolled more than 13,500 homes in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia since 2004 – and it’s expanding across Canada because builders are asking for it. Built Green President David Bengert says that’s because the program delivers environmental performance with a lot less cost and complexity. If the response to our online petition asking LEED to open up its forest certification credit to all credible certification programs is any measure – Built Green’s inclusive certification policy will also make it attractive to builders. And that’s not only good for forest certification and Built Green, it’s also good for forests and communities across Canada.