News
| Petition LEED Program to Recognize Other Forest Certification Programs | 2010-04-02 |
A petition supported by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is now available online that urges the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to recognize all forest certification standards within the LEED scoring system. Currently, points for using certified wood in building projects seeking LEED certification only recognizes wood products from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. Other certifying programs such as the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), SFI, and the Canadian Standards Association's (CSA) Sustainable Forest Management are competing programs not recognized under the USGBC Program. No LEED points are available to an architect/designer/builder for using wood products certified under these programs. A recent editorial was printed in a major industry publication, Building Design + Construction that advocates USGBC to open LEED. To view the article, click here. There's also a growing list of leaders and experts voicing their support for inclusivity, including the National Association of State Foresters who recently wrote a letter to the USGBC that stated, “Proponents of individual certification programs may promote their option as the best or only option, but no forest certification program can credibly claim to be "best." The value of certification is derived from on-the-ground outcomes, not product brand names. LEED should reward forest certification, not one brand, and show leadership by promoting certified wood as preferable to the vast majority of wood sourced from unknown sources. Rewarding certification and increasing certification options will help green building grow consistent with its core objective.” The online petition may be accessed by clicking here. Click on the links below to read additional articles regarding this ongoing battle: Virginia Real Estate and Land Use To view the U.S. Green Building Council's website, go here. | |
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Eastern White Pine VS. Radiata Pine. Learn about these two species in a side by side comparison. Who will be victorious?
Founded in 1933, the Northeastern Lumber Manufacturer's Association (NELMA) is one of seven lumber rules writing agencies in the U.S. accredited by the American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC) to write grade rules that are certified as conforming to the American Softwood Lumber Standard PS20. NELMA is the official author and administrator of the grading rules for Eastern White Pine, in particular.
In addition to the quality control inspection audits we conduct at lumber manufacturers to ensure that on-grade Eastern White Pine products are meeting the needs of consumers, NELMA develops and distributes an array of technical information and unique promotional materials via our member-driven marketing program. We encourage you to browse through the pages of this website and discover why Eastern White Pine is the very best choice when wood is considered, both environmentally sustainable and application versatile.
