Jason Metnick, SFI Senior Director of Market Access and Product Labeling, notes several groups agree with SFI — USGBC should recognize SFI and other forest certification standards.

Craig Webb recently wrote an article for ProSales outlining the benchmark changes and why various organizations don’t feel the current draft properly addresses forest certification issues. Yesterday Dovetail, a non-profit organization that works to remote responsible environmental behavior, issued a press release expressing their disappointment in USGBC’s benchmarks.

“The drawn-out forest certification benchmark revision process could, and should, have focused on development of a generic benchmark standard for construction materials in general,” notes Dr. Jim Bowyer, Director of the Responsible Materials Program within Minneapolis-based Dovetail Partners.

SFI believes the benchmarks, like the one currently proposed could result in never ending revisions, assessments and evaluations year after year with no clear results. We know the USGBC can do better, which is why we’ve urged USGBC leaders to listen to elected officials, government agencies, professional foresters, and others who are telling them to end the discrimination against North American forests and accept wood certified to all forest certification standards used in North America – SFI, FSC, CSA, ATFS and PEFC.

I encourage you to continue to follow the latest updates and show your support. Sign our petition and watch our green building movie if you haven’t already done so.

Jason Metnick, SFI Senior Director of Market Access and Label Use, provides an update on LEED benchmarks.

As you may have seen, the USGBC recently requested comments on a fourth round of draft benchmarks to evaluate forest certification programs in its LEED green building rating system. SFI has cautioned the USGBC that a process like the one currently proposed could result in never ending revisions, assessments and evaluations year after year with no clear results.  We believe it is time for USGBC’s leadership to end this process and give credit for wood use and forest certification standards.  SFI strongly supports green building, and we believe SFI and other credible certification programs are a clear fit for green building rating systems.  Wood from responsibly-managed forests, like those certified to the SFI Standard, is an excellent choice for any new construction or renovation.  Wood is renewable, it sequesters carbon and is powered by solar energy.  These factors, coupled with wood’s desirable aesthetic and structural characteristics, make it a great choice for green buildings.  We therefore suggest that the USGBC should:

USGBC leaders should listen to elected officials, government agencies, professional foresters, and others who are telling them to end the discrimination against North American forests and accept wood certified to all forest certification standards used in North America – SFI, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Canadian Standards Association (CSA), American Tree Farm System (ATFS) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

It’s not too late to show your support and urge the USGBC to sunset the forest certification benchmarks.  Please sign our petition, and check out our short green building video.  Also, please forward the petition and video to friends and family who care about the future of North American forests.  You can find more information about the comment period on the USGBC’s website, and you can check out our public statement regarding the fourth round of public comments on SFI’s website.

Nadine Block, who focuses on Government Outreach for SFI,  has an exciting update about more government support for opening LEED.

The four co-chairs of the Congressional Timber Caucus recently sent a powerful letter to the USGBC advocating for the organization to reverse its exclusive LEED policy. Representatives Kevin Brady (R-TX), Bart Stupak (D-MI), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Mike Ross (D-AR) urged the USGBC to open LEED in order to stop the discrimination against North American wood products and recognize wood as a responsible, renewable choice for green building.

They stated, “If the status quo remains unchanged, and SFI and ATFS wood products are not recognized, we believe many LEED builders will turn away reputable third-party SFI and ATFS certified wood which is grown locally and instead turn to FSC certified wood, the large majority of which is grown in other countries. Wood projects should be treated equally with other building products, such as steel and concrete, which are not required to have third-party environmental certification in order to receive a credit.”

At SFI, we agree. I continue to ask you to demand change. Sign the petition and ask your family, friends and colleagues to do the same. Change in LEED is crucial for the future of green building and forest certification.

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.

Coming off the heels of the USGBC Federal Summit, we’re as excited as ever to raise awareness of SFI and the program’s role in green building. We continue to garner support for changes to LEED, and government officials continue to back our stance. Last week, Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter wrote a letter to the USGBC discussing the benefits of opening LEED.

The governor states that under the LEED rating system, “bamboo from China and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood from Russia and Brazil would be certified, whereas only some of Idaho’s wood would be certified.”

We agree with his point—when the LEED rating tools exclude the majority of certified wood from counting towards the LEED wood certification credit, that’s a problem. Currently, the USGBC only recognizes FSC for the forest certification credit. We need to ensure wood from the U.S. and Canada certified to SFI, CSA, ATFS, and PEFC gets equal recognition with offshore wood certified to FSC. The USGBC is in a process to review this credit; however, it is a lengthy process, and while we spend years waiting it out, the majority of well-managed and certified wood from the U.S. and Canada is discriminated against in the USGBC’s LEED rating system.

Governor Otter’s letter also says “Under the draft benchmarks, much of the nearly 20 million acres of Idaho’s public and private forest land would not qualify for LEED credits. The draft ignores the fact that Idaho’s State and privately held timber lands are harvested under a Forest Practices Act provision requiring use of nationally recognized Best Management Practices (including mandatory protection of Streamside Maintenance Zones) and semi-annual interagency audits which are made public.”

SFI agrees with this statement and has suggested to the USGBC in past written comments that the USGBC needs to give wood a credit for being wood, a renewable resource. If wood has gone through the rigorous third party certification process that standards such as SFI, CSA, ATFS and FSC offer, then an extra LEED credit should be given.

You can read the governor’s letter in full on our website, where you can also see the other letters of support. If you haven’t already, sign the petition and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to do the same!