Certified Wood Credit in LEED Gets Makeover

After more than two years of work, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has proposed a major change for certified wood in its LEED Rating System. Previously, LEED awarded credit to projects that used wood certified to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for at least half of their wood-based materials. Now, USGBC has broadened the credit, recognizing any forest-certification program that meets its criteria. A public comment period runs through September 7, 2008.

The proposed change does not substantively alter the intent of Materials and Resources credit 7, although it does add the goal of social responsibility to the existing goal of environmental responsibility. Rather, it is a response to longstanding criticism that LEED arbitrarily favors one forest-certification program, FSC, over others—particularly the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a rival to FSC that is perceived by some environmentalists as less rigorous.

In the proposed change, the credit would recognize any certification program that meets the criteria of a “Forest Certification System Benchmark.” FSC appears likely to meet the criteria. But other programs, including SFI and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), may have some difficulty with parts of the benchmark system, including a ban on genetically modified organisms, an emphasis on integrated pest management and bans on certain chemicals, and recognition of aboriginal land and tenure rights. All of the benchmark criteria must be met for recognition in LEED.

“We’re pleased to see this,” Karen Brandt, vice president for market affairs at SFI, told EBN. Noting the potential benefit of recognizing forest certification systems other than FSC, she said, “It really reflects the reality that only 10% of the world’s forests are certified.” She added, “All the certification systems address key values, address social issues, and provide third-party verification.” Brandt noted that SFI had just received the proposal and said, “We’ll be looking at how we compare for those benchmarks.”

Corey Brinkema, president of FSC–US, told EBN, “Overall we’re quite disappointed and alarmed.” Expressing concern that the criteria within the benchmark system are too vague, Brinkema said, “Many of what are referred to as benchmarks will really only become benchmarks after they’re interpreted. They could turn out to be pretty stringent or fairly loose.”

As an example, Brinkema points to a stipulation that forest certification systems address maintenance of “natural ecosystem structure and function.” Brinkema said, “We find that to be exceptionally vague,” pointing to issues like soil health, restoration of degraded landscapes, old-growth forests, and other more specific areas that, he argues, should be addressed in that area. For a leadership standard, Brinkema argues, the proposed credit inadequately addresses numerous other topics.

The proposed revision was prepared by LEED’s materials and resources technical advisory group (MR TAG) and USGBC staff with technical support from experts at Yale University’s Program on Forest Policy and Governance and approved by the LEED steering committee. It stops well short of an initial proposal put forward two years ago by a task force convened by the USGBC board of directors. That group had proposed expanding LEED’s credit for rapidly renewable materials to recognize all biobased materials, including SFI-certified wood, that meet a minimal certification requirement, while modifying the certified wood credit to include any biobased materials certified under more rigorous standards (see EBN Vol. 15, No. 6).

The MR TAG will respond to initial public comments and revise the proposal before submitting it for another round of comments. After conclusion of the final public comment period, the changes will go to the USGBC membership for ratification.

– Tristan Korthals Altes

For more information:

U.S. Green Building Council
LEED Rating System Drafts
www.usgbc.org/LEED/LEEDDrafts/RatingSystemVersions.aspx?CMSPageID=1458

September 1, 2008

DISCUSSIONS

Reader-contributed comments related to Certified Wood Credit in LEED Gets Makeover - EBN: 17:9. Comments are listed with newest at the top.

Certified Wood Makeover Posted by Len Harding on Sep 17, 2008, 11:23 AM
There is an old "law" in economics, Gresham's Law. Gresham noted that "bad money drives out good." This rule applies here: lower/vague standards will drive out stringent/tougher ones. This is sad.

On the other hand, the FSC credit is the biggest pain in the neck associated with LEED, and I always advise against pursuing it. Commercial construction has no need of wood. Continued use of wood in architecture is an affectation of taste, not a necessity. If designers stopped pushing exotic wood as a mark of status, this would save more stands of endangered woods than LEED could ever hope to preserve.

Len Harding, LEED AP
Perini Building Company
Las Vegas, NV

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