Help the USGBC Determine LEED Criteria for Certified Wood

Currently, LEED points for certified wood are only available through the Forest Stewardship Council.

by Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 8/15/2008

Have an opinion on the proposed changes in the LEED Green Building Rating System’s method of assigning points for using certified wood? If so, you have until September 7 to weigh in during the U.S. Green Building Council's first month-long public comment period.

Currently, LEED points are only awarded to wood products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. If approved, the USGBC’s new language would allow wood rated by any forest certification system to achieve LEED points, provided that it meets a newly established set of standards. These benchmarks include governance, technical/standards substance, accreditation, auditing, chain of custody, and labeling.

"The proposed evolution of the certified wood credit in LEED will help focus the forest certification conversation on outcomes and performance," says Brendan Owens, vice president of LEED technical development for the USGBC.

The planned changes in the way that the USGBC issues LEED credits were prompted by research developed during a two-year collaboration between the organization and the Yale Program on Forest Policy and Governance, as well as life cycle assessment experts at Sylvatica.

"It was clear from our extensive research that increasing internationalization of the wood supply chain, the changing ownership structure of American forests, and the increasing diversity of wood certification programs globally demanded a more holistic, transparent approach," Owens adds.