Tuesday, 21 January 2025
FSC Brings Responsible Forestry to Greenbuild ‘24
As we continue to ramp up our involvement in the AEC (architecture/engineering/construction) industry, the Greenbuild Conference and Expo is one of the most important events of the year for meeting these sustainability-minded professionals. Held this past November in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, the conference saw close to 10,000 attendees from all walks of green building.
The FSC team hosted a booth in the Mass Timber+ Pavilion, near the firms dedicated to this rapidly growing sector of construction and their wood suppliers. Many of them carry FSC chain-of-custody certification, which made for great opportunities to connect, build relationships, further understand the marketplace, and answer the myriad of questions people had.
To be able to carry informed conversations with the diverse array of people we met, we brought key members of FSC US as well as one from FSC Canada.
In attendance from FSC US were:
- Shawn Collier, Director of Marketing
- Jenna Mueller, Chain of Custody & Trademark Senior Manager
- Tom Kain, Senior Manager, Forest Certification Markets
- Jonathan Reese, Strategic Marketing and Business Development
And from FSC Canada:
- Jeff Welch, Market Development Manager
Booth traffic was strong and steady. Says Tom Kain,” We were able to make connections between those who want FSC wood and those who are able to provide it for projects. The people who came by the booth posed excellent questions concerning FSC certification and how it fits into the built environment.”
Jenna Mueller met with stakeholders, her deep knowledge helped people understand the ins & outs of chain of custody and forestry certifications.
Jeff Welch went on to add, “It was an excellent opportunity to connect with several Canadian mass timber manufacturers, and it was enjoyable to work alongside the dedicated team from FSC USA. The traffic at the FSC booth was very good and resulted in quality connections within the architectural community as well as others.”
On Wednesday evening after the Expo closed for the day, we hosted a reception at a charming local pub called the Kite & Key. A highlight of the evening was the call-out of 2024 Leadership Award winners in the Design & Build category. Stuart Hale from The Nature Conservancy and Co-chair of the FSC US Board of Directors kicked things off with an intro and an update on FSC activities. Jonathan Reese announced the winners and was able to personally hand awards to partners on the Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation building project at Muhlenberg College who were in town for the conference.
Philadelphia-based Drew Lavine, Re:Vision Architecture Partner + Director of Design, was excited to receive an award and encouraged the crowd to continue pushing the envelope on FSC wood use in construction. Heidi Kunsch of the PA Department of Environmental Protection recieved the award on behalf of Muhlenberg College.
All in, approximately 75 friends and supporters showed up at the reception for food, drinks, and conversation. These included members of the Pennsylvania Hardwoods Development Council, Collins Kane Hardwoods, SCS Global Services, Kalesnikoff, and more.