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.
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.
The letter began to gather support in mid-June just as we finished up with two successful briefings on Capitol Hill and as the USGBC opened a fourth round of draft benchmarks evaluating the forest certification programs in its LEED rating system.
In addition to Congressional support, nearly 6,000 people have signed a petition to open LEED, and 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.
With many members of Congress active in forestry issues and representing districts with acres of forest lands, this topic received broad support. They understand the value of wood in green building. At SFI, we believe wood products should be given a LEED credit for being a durable, renewable resource, and additional credit should be given for credible third-party certified wood, including SFI, ATFS, CSA, FSC and PEFC. The voice of elected officials and policy-makers is crucial in encouraging responsible forest management and ensuring that all forest certification systems play a credible role in this process.
Check out a copy of the letter and a press release about the mounting pressure to open LEED, which are available on our website.
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.
The road through the USGBC review process has not been short or uncomplicated, and in the end, we hope the organization gets past its outdated process and the politics around the LEED forest certification policy. Inclusiveness is the answer. 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.
One-fifth of all U.S. governors have written letters in support of opening LEED. Professional societies including the National Association of State Foresters, the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers and the Society of American Foresters have released statements urging the USGBC to change its policy.
The USGBC needs to focus on the facts and create a program that recognizes the value of wood as a green building material and all the benefits credible forest certification programs bring. Considering the staggering number of responses in the petition, along with broad support from respected forestry experts, conservation groups and government officials, our common vision should be impossible to ignore.
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: SFI, ATFS, CSA, FSC and PEFC.
Now is not the time to let up. Show support for increased certification by signing our petition, as well as passing along our green building video to friends and family. If you’re a voting member of USGBC, vote against the current benchmarks. Ask the USGBC to accept all credible forest certification standards. Do what’s best for our forests here in North America and globally.
Thank you for your ongoing support of this important initiative!
Nadine Block, who focuses on Government Outreach for SFI, gives an overview of the Hill Briefings held in mid-June.
Last month SFI participated in briefings on Capitol Hill, and a remarkable panel helped bring awareness to forest certification, wood as an ideal building material, and the importance of opening LEED to all credible forest certification programs. The briefing was a part of High-Performance Building Week, a perfect opportunity to talk about issues surrounding wood and green building.
Briefing panelists included 2009 National Tree Farmers of the Year Earl and Wanda Barrs, CEO of the Society of American Foresters Michael Goergen, President of the National Association of State Foresters Steven Koehn and union representative Bill Street.
Several themes emerged during the briefings:
It is critical to have strong markets for domestic forest products – without them, you lose a key incentive to keep our forests to pass onto our children.
Federal policies and green building rating systems should incentivize the use of wood products because they are renewable, use less energy to produce and store carbon.
Green building rating systems should recognize all credible forest certification systems as a way of raising the bar for management of our forests.
Each certification program addresses a different interest or need. SFI was created for North American forests, requiring stringent practices that go beyond our basic laws. Other systems were specifically designed for tropical forest lands in developing countries or small family forests in Europe, which is why they all have an important and credible role in certification.
Some of our panelists recorded a few thoughts I thought would be interesting to share:
Earl Barrs, Gully Branch Tree Farm, 2009 National Tree Farmer of the Year
“One reason we have forest land in Georgia is because we’ve always had good markets, and it’s important we continue to have good markets … We’re doing all the conservation environmental stewardship and we’re doing all the things that make a forest sustainable.”
Wanda Barrs, Gully Branch Tree Farm, 2009 National Tree Farmer of the Year
“If we don’t have healthy markets, then the likelihood of our family farm surviving the next generation transfer is highly unlikely. The quality of life and conservation values – air quality, clean water, recreation, wildlife, recreation – can be lost if there are no markets.”
Michael Goergen, CEO of Society of American Foresters
“There are many different forest certification systems, and the value of having these certification systems is they improve each other … They’re pushing each other to improve their standards all the time. They’re using better science. They’re getting better information, and they’re improving forest management on the ground.”
We feel energized from the feedback and interest we got on the Hill, and we plan to continue outreach to key officials. You can help too! Urge the USGBC to open its LEED rating system. Show support for increased certification by signing our petition, as well as passing along our green building video to friends and family.
Kathy Abusow is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI Inc.), the fully independent, non-profit organization responsible for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program. Click for more→
