Monday, 01 December 2003
USGBC Conference and Expo is a Great Success for FSC Partners
The U.S. Green Building Council held it’s 2nd annual conference and expo, “Greenbuild," in Pittsburgh, PA from November 11th-14th. Greenbuild was attended by more than 5,000 professionals in the green building industry, including architects, builders, engineers, and construction specifiers, and 300 exhibiting companies and organizations. The conference included many workshops about the LEED green building rating system, and discussions of the latest advancements in the green building industry.
Because the use of FSC-certified products is included as part of the LEED system, several FSC certificate holders, as well as FSC-US, used this as an opportunity to network with green building professionals who are directly involved with specifying FSC-certified products in construction projects. “We were very excited to be at the Greenbuild show," stated FSC-US president Roger Dower. “The conference attendees were very positive about FSC and the idea of certified wood, and based on the buzz at the conference, we are expecting to see a significant increase in the specification of FSC-certified products in LEED projects in the coming year."
The “certified wood pavilion" area of the exhibit hall, organized for the second consecutive year by Terry Campbell of Certified Wood and Paper Association, let FSC certificate holders be grouped together, giving the exhibitors an even greater impact. Campbell thought, “the quality of questions from the attendees was very good and the FSC certified companies that exhibited walked away with great sales leads. Next year we will work to expand on this year’s success with the FSC Certified Wood Pavilion at USGBC 2004 in Portland, OR."
Chris McDonnel, environment director at Tembec, said, “Greenbuild gave us the opportunity to meet with builders, architects and others requiring FSC certified structural lumber, the backbone of many green building projects. With our ample supply at a commercial scale and strong distribution network, GreenBuild provided Tembec with the platform to launch into the green building market."
Jeff Stephens, communications director for Scientific Certification Systems, observed “as one of the first accredited certifiers for FSC, we were gratified to see so much discussion about the importance of sourcing wood from well managed forests. It’s encouraging to see architects, designers, and product specifiers requiring the use of FSC-certified products. The momentum for certified wood continues to grow, and that’s exciting."
The Collins Companies, a long-time FSC certificate holder, also exhibited at the show. According to Wade Mosby, senior vice president for Collins, “the USGBC LEED program is the premier market driver for FSC certification in North America."
More information about Greenbuild can be found at www.greenbuildexpo.org. To be included in the Certified Wood Pavilion in Greenbuild 2004 (which is already filling up quickly), please contact Terry Campbell as soon as possible at terry@cwpa.info.