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GET ON THE GUIDE!
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It Makes Sense to Demand Certified Wood for Your Project or New Home
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| Now, when you build your new home or begin a new project, you can
specify wood products from certified sustainably managed forests. |
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As wood supplies dwindle, it makes better sense than ever to demand that the wood used in your project or home comes from sustainable forests.
A trend toward certified wood reflects a larger trend toward greener building practices. You may even find that some builders and retailers give preference to wood supplied from certified forestlands.
What is certified wood?
In North America, the three leading forest certification programs are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Canadian Standards Association (CSA).
The FSC program, which began in 1994, bills itself as "the world’s strongest system for guiding forest management toward sustainable outcomes.” FSC principles, criteria and standards cover environmental as well as social and economic factors. About 22.5 million acres of public and private U.S. timberlands are FSC-certified, roughly 5 percent of the country’s working forests. FSC-certified U.S. forests have more than doubled since January 2003.
SFI arose from the American Forest and Paper Association, whose principles "call for a land stewardship ethic which integrates the reforestation, nurturing, and harvesting of trees for useful products with the conservation of soil, air and water resources, wildlife and fish habitat, and forest aesthetics.” The program boasts impressive statistics: participation by most large wood producers; 130 million acres certified in the U.S. and Canada; and coverage of more than half of U.S.-manufactured dimensional lumber.
Wood products from SFI-certified forests are widely available, but most such materials are not labeled. Many retailers avoid carrying the SFI name on their products, fearing backlash from some environmentalists who consider SFI standards too lenient.
Dimensional lumber is the most popular FSC-certified product. Plywood, OSB, particleboard, flooring, windows and doors also are widely distributed for residential and commercial use. For example, in its California, Arizona and some Nevada stores, Home Depot carries many varieties of FSC-certified boards, dimensional lumber, fencing, plywood, studs, pressure-treated wood, flooring, interior/exterior doors, moldings and paneling. You may need to ask for these in Austin and San Antonio stores.
35 percent to 50 percent of Built Green-certified homes contain some FSC-certified wood. Flooring and trim are the most common applications.
Many FSC-certified materials sell for the same price as non-FSC products, while others may cost a little more. It's estimated that often FSC-certified softwoods cost 2% to 4% more, although FSC-certified hardwoods are generally comparable in price to noncertified counterparts.
At least one Texas-based homebuilder, Centex, has developed a policy offering preference to suppliers that furnish wood certified through FSC, SFI or CSA. Announcing that they want to be a positive agent for change, the company now derives more than 80 percent of the $600 million-plus worth of wood products it buys annually from these suppliers. The company reports that the vast majority of that certified wood does not cost significantly more.
You may have to search a little, but it makes good sense to specify FSC-certified materials in any project or new home you build.
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in Central Texas
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