We are in Phoenix this week for the U.S. Green Building Conference’s “Greenbuild International Conference and Expo.”  This is the major North American meeting on the topic.  More than 20,000 attend, including architects, planners, designers, builders, building owners and managers, government officials and businesses ranging from hotels to colleges to hospitals.

This is the second year that SFI has sponsored Greenbuild.  We participate because the meeting provides us a great opportunity to spread the word about SFI to those dedicated to “green building.”  SFI certification is recognized by many of the leading green building rating programs used by building professionals to help make decisions about products and practices for both residential and non-residential projects.

I am looking forward to the keynote address from Al Gore, who speaks Wednesday at Chase Field, the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball stadium.  More to come on his remarks.

One of the things I absolutely love about the SFI program is our work with communities – it’s a natural extension to any forest management activities. Our partnerships with local Habitat for Humanity affiliates capture this spirit perfectly.

At last count, the SFI program and its SFI Implementation Committees have been or are involved in Habitat projects in Minnesota, Maine, Tennessee, Manitoba and Ontario. Program participants have volunteered hundreds of hours of their time, and companies have donated thousands of dollars worth of products.

There are so many pluses it is hard to know where to start. Through Habitat, we are helping put low-income working families into their own homes. I was given a chance to wield a hammer at a Build Day in Hibbing, Minnesota, last summer, and saw for myself how much it meant for the new homeowner to build her own home with the help of her community.

The Manitoba and Ontario projects are special because both involve Aboriginal organizations – Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg has partnered with the Manitoba Métis Federation and Habitat for Humanity Northumberland is working with Alderville First Nation in southern Ontario to build the first Habitat for Humanity home in a First Nation community in Canada.

This is a great way to provide safe, healthy housing for First Nations people. Chief James Marsden of Alderville First Nation put it perfectly when he said: “We are very pleased to establish partnerships like these with businesses and the community because it allows us to create an affordable home for an Alderville First Nation family. Partnering with SFI also allows us to reinforce our respect for land and forests.”

Habitat for Humanity is a fantastic organization, and I am proud we can support them. Their guiding principles – simple, decent, affordable – say a lot about what they represent. And our involvement is a great fit because Habitat is increasing its emphasis on sustainability, and our donated forest products are from responsible sources.

I want to thank all the SFI companies and individuals who have pitched in to promote Habitat partnerships, and encourage you to check out the Habitat for Humanity website to see if there are opportunities to help out in your area.

One of yesterday’s panels was on Green Buildings. It included Michael Deane from Turner Construction, Clay Nesler from Johnson Controls, Frank O’Brien-Bernini from Owens Corning, Guy Geier from FXFOWLE Architects and Bill Valentine from HOK.

We were fortunate enough to get the chance to talk to Guy and Bill one-on-one in separate interviews, and get their thoughts on industry trends, best practices and the hurdles architects face incorporating sustainability into design (Guy’s answer may surprise you).

FXFOWLE is cutting-edge commercial interior design firm that has recently completed the National Audubon Society headquarters in New York, NY as well as SAP America’s headquarters in Newton Square, Pennsylvania.

HOK is also a commercial design firm and was recently named the greenest design firm in the country, based on total sales.

Guy Geier, Senior Partner at FXFOWLE Architects

Bill Valentine, Chairman & Design Principal at HOK

I’ve been involved in the forest sector for 20 years and I can honestly say I don’t remember a time when the sector faced as many challenges as it does today. It seems every day I am hearing of more mill closures, consolidation, layoffs, etc. I’ve seen some tough times in the sector for sure, and yet I’m always impressed by the resiliency of the sector and its passion for our forests.

This commitment to the environment is evident in SFI’s record growth over the past year. We’ve averaged more than one certification per day, and today we have more than 1000 locations certified across North America and more than 700 organizations are involved in our program. From land owners and managers to wood procurement companies to lumber yards, furniture makers, printers and paper makers and packaging companies to governments and customers – we are witnessing a unprecedented commitment to responsible forest management. This at time, when as a sector, we are clearly hurting.

I can’t say for sure what 2009 will hold for the forest sector, no one can. I can say this though, our forests in North America and globally are still a priority, that sustainable forest management and sustainable communities are paramount. However, with only 10% of the world’s forests certified, the health and sustainability of forests and our communities depends on us working together not against one another. This is not the time to support a monopoly, we need choice in forest certification programs, it’s time for us to work together to ensure our forests are there for future generations, that our customers have choice and consumers have access to forest products from well-managed forests. Whether you’re a printer, a forest company, another certification program, an environmentalist or anyone that cares about the world’s forests, I invite you all to work together with us at SFI to address the challenges facing our forest sector and seize the opportunities to promote sustainable forest management globally.

Ron Wilson from buyalder.com posted a great comment/ question the other day and I thought it deserved its own post – join in on the discussion.

Ron Wilson: Do you feel that there is any chance that the Leed program will not accept SFI certification? Our customers are very concerned about SFI certification losing any value if the Leed system does not move in this direction.

SFI welcomes the work the USGBC is doing. Their work and the inclusive approach they are considering reflects the direction many other green building programs have taken. Examples of these programs that do include a variety of credible certification programs like SFI are the Green Build Initiative’s Green Globes system for commercial building in the US, Green Globes Canada for commercial building in Canada, NAHB’s Green Building Guidelines for residential building in the US, the BRE Environmental Assessment Method for commercial buildings in the UK, and The Code for Sustainable Homes for residential homes in England.

If the USGBC evolves to recognize SFI and other certification programs it would support their position as being among the leaders in the complex, evolving, and critically important world of green building. I am hopeful that through working with USGBC and helping them understand what SFI delivers vis-a-vis other certification programs we will be included. It is too early in the USGBC process to know where SFI will come out because they are still developing their benchmarks against which they will assess the different certification programs. After they develop their benchmarks, the different standards will be assessed and that process will likely not be completed before summer 2009. Once the benchmarks have been developed we will have a better understanding of where SFI fits.

So, am I concerned about SFI’s value changing if LEED doesn’t implement an inclusive approach? Honestly, I believe in the strength of the SFI program – it is one of the largest, fastest growing and most comprehensive forest certification programs in the world. We have grown from 48 chain-of-custody certified locations a year ago to nearly 900 to date. I don’t expect that to change regardless of the outcome of LEED – governments around the world recognize the value of SFI, as do numerous other green building rating systems. (Have a look at our green building fact sheet.)

At the end of the day, certification need not be contentious – there is a lot of room in the green building arena for certified wood products The issue is not which forest certification system is better; they all deliver on key values such as protection of special biological or cultural sites, management strategies to protect species at risk and wildlife habitat, sustainable harvest levels, prompt regeneration, 3rd party accredited certification audits, and public audit reports with corrective actions listed. I think it is in the planet’s best interest if we all focus on the 90% of the world’s forests that are not certified and do not have strong legal frameworks.

While we are on the subject of how certified wood fits in the realm of green building, I’ll end my post with a little food for thought – wood is the only building material that comes with third party certification.