Revised LEED Wood Credit Slammed from Both Sides

The latest draft of LEED’s proposed new Forest Certification credit includes a significant change from the previous version—and stakeholders on all sides are sounding alarms.

While the previous public comment draft—the second version—took an all-or-nothing approach to endorsing certification programs, the current (third) draft now allows for multiple levels of compliance, and assigns half-credit, full-credit, or double-credit to programs based on the degree of compliance. While it isn’t stated explicitly, the likely outcome of this approach, if implemented, is that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) would comply at the full-credit level, while industry-supported certifications such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) would comply at the half-credit level. FSC-certified wood will contribute to LEED points just as it has in the past, while wood certified by other programs will, for the first time, gain a long-sought foothold in LEED.

Industry groups opposed to this approach argue that LEED would continue to provide FSC with an unwarranted advantage, while environmental groups are concerned about any move that would allow industry programs into LEED.

SFI has launched a petition via Twitter, and is touting public statements of support from governors of seven states, along with various mainstream forestry bodies and forest regulators. They emphasize the “buy American” angle, arguing that by promoting FSC wood LEED is supporting internationally sourced forest products at the expense of the North American industry, where the SFI and CSA certifications predominate.

Meanwhile, the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, a chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, which owns LEED, argues in a position statement that by providing an entry point for industry-supported programs these new changes “lower the bar” for forest certification in LEED, in contrast to other aspects of the standard that are becoming more stringent. A large group of sustainable design leaders at leading architecture and design firms has come out with a similarly strong position against the latest draft of the certified wood credit.

While the public comment period on the proposal closed recently, both sides are encouraging their supporters to register as members of the consensus body that will eventually vote on the credit changes. The deadline for registration is March 24, 2010.

– Nadav Malin

For more information:

Sustainable Forestry Initiative
http://sfiprogram.org/LEED/

Cascadia's Guide to the USGBC Forest Benchmark
http://cascadiagbc.org/news/cascadias-guide-to-the-usgbc-forest-benchmark

A&D Sustainable Design Leaders Letter
http://bit.ly/ADSDL-LEED-wood-letter-2

March 23, 2010

DISCUSSIONS