Selling Lumber on its Environmental Virtues

In what is described as a major policy change, the Western Wood Products Association (WWPA) is launching a campaign to emphasize the environmental benefits of wood and appeal to growing public awareness about the environment. “We want the [building] industry to know that we’re concerned about the environment,” says Victor Riolo, Director of Field Services for the WWPA, which handles promotion and technical support for wood products companies in twelve western states. Although WWPA officials are quick to point out that they have no control over the operational policies of their members—most of whom are still wary of outside scrutiny of their forest management practices—the Association seems to be adopting a more tolerant and conciliatory attitude toward those concerned with the environment.

WWPA has contracted with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), owners of the Green Cross emblem, to conduct a study comparing the “cradle-to-grave” environmental impacts of wood products with potential alternatives. They hope that the study will firmly establish wood as the environmental building material of choice (compared with steel studs, for example) because of lower embodied energy and minimal pollution generation during production.