Monday, 01 September 2003
Washington State Reconsiders FSC
State Certification Could Satisfy Huge Green Building Demand in Northwest
In the fall of 2002, the State of Washington developed a Sustainable Washington Advisory Panel, convened by Governor Locke, with a purpose of achieving sustainability in the state. In a subsequent report dated February 2003, the Governor’s Sustainable Washington Advisory Panel (GSWAP) recommended that the State should seek forest certification as a way for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to manage the state forests for today and tomorrow’s beneficiaries, as well achieve better economic, social and environmental performance.
In order to achieve this goal, 1.2 million acres of Washington State Forest Trusts underwent an FSC assessment in mid-August, conducted by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS). This is actually an update to an initial assessment conducted in 2001, the first time that the State of Washington considered FSC certification.
“Washington’s forests are managed to some of the highest environmental standards in North America," said Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland. “Certification may provide us an opportunity to benefit from that good stewardship."
In a letter dated June 30, 2003, from two members of GSWAP to Sutherland, the panel members advocate certification for Washington state forests in order to give local FSC chain-of-custody (COC) certificate holders, such as mills, wholesalers, an value-added manufacturers, the chance be competitive in the FSC market, by getting FSC-certified wood from a local source.
The letter also noted that the earlier report promoted the use of green building in both the private and public sectors. They cited the LEED green building program of the U.S. Green Building Council, which gives credit for both FSC-certified wood, and for wood harvested within 500 miles of the project.
Bettina Von Hagen, Vice President Forestry Program and Natural Capital Fund for the nonprofit Ecotrust, based in Portland, OR, stated that, “we are thrilled by Washington State’s assessment. It will add significantly to the inventory and flow of FSC-certified wood from western forests, which is especially significant given the growing demand for good wood for green building projects from Vancouver to San Francisco. In addition, FSC certification highlights Washington State’s leadership in defining the forestry of the future, which focuses on building forest structure and diversity and produces more wood, more revenue, better habitat, greater carbon storage, and better conditions for fish, landscapes, and people than the current industrial model."
The Pinchot Institute for Conservation, of Washington, D.C, provided funding for the assessment, received from private foundations, as well as Lanoga Corporation, the umbrella corporation for Lumbermen’s Building Centers, a large home center store retailer in the Pacific Northwest and FSC COC certificate holder.
“This is a benchmark certification project in the US for two key reasons" states Catherine Mater, Senior Fellow of the Pinchot Institute and project manager for all Pinchot certification pilot projects conducted in the US. “It is the first time FSC certification has been tested on public “trust" lands—forestlands required to be managed for public benefit to meet fiduciary responsibilities (funding for state schools, etc.). It is also the first time that a major home center retailer has stepped to the plate to help finance forest certification on public lands."
Lanoga chose to get involved with this project because, according to Paul Hylbert, President of Lanoga Corporation, “Certification of Washington’s state forests will increase the marketability of wood products logged and milled in this state. At this point, it is often difficult to source certified wood for specific jobs; having the state’s forests certified will help address that issue." Hylbert added that, “Given our public position on sustainability, it seems appropriate to put our money where our mouth is and supply the funding to complete the assessment."
The timing of the FSC assessment update is crucial in Washington State as the Board of Natural Resources (BNR) is currently in the process of re-evaluating their forest management planning policies and procedures, and plans to select a new “preferred alternative" forest management practice protocol in October to be applied to all their state-managed forests (approximately 3 million acres). The media in Washington State have stated that this coming decision by the BNR will shape the future of all forest management practices in the state.