Saturday, 01 January 2005
Educating the Green Building Market
FSC-US Offers New Tools to Educate Building Professionals
In February 2005, FSC-US, in partnership with Forest Products Solutions, will launch Designing & Building with FSC: A Training Guide. Designing & Building with FSC has been published to assist design and construction professionals with simple steps through each phase of a project, from resources to researching product availability, and FSC Specification Language to case studies showing how projects successfully incorporated FSC-certified products. The guide is endorsed by Dr. Jerry Franklin of the University of Washington–School of Forestry, who is internationally recognized for his contributions to science and conservation, and architect William McDonough, one of the founders and leaders of the ‘green’ building movement.Designing & Building with FSC will be the cornerstone document for FSC-US’ efforts in the ‘green’ building industry, as we continue to educate and inform interested professionals about their role in transforming the marketplace.
Along with Designing & Building with FSC, FSC-US will offer lunchtime presentations to design and construction firms who are currently working on projects that require the use of FSC-certified wood or who are interested in learning about FSC for future projects. FSC-US, in partnership with other organizations, will provide this presentation, which is accredited by the American Institute of Architects (AIA)-Continuing Education Credit system and is available for 1 credit hour of Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW). Programs include an introduction to Forest Stewardship Council certification, details on how to specify and source FSC-certified products, hints on how to make your specification and use of certified products more efficient, and resources to use in planning your project. To learn more about these programs or to discuss a program tailored to your needs, please contact FSC-US at info@fscus.org.
FSC-US has also just launched a new “green building” page on its website, www.fscus.org. The new section includes sample specification language for architects looking to include FSC-certified products in their projects, information about the American Institute of Architects (AIA) accredited training program, and information on how to find FSC-certified products.
There is also a new option that allows customers seeking large volumes of FSC-certified wood products for building projects to email FSC-US and have that request delivered directly to all suppliers of FSC-certified building materials in the U.S. This option, having been tested by FSC-US over the past three months, has proven extremely useful in quickly and effectively connecting customers and manufacturers.
Michael Washburn, Vice President of Forestry and Marketing for FSC-US, said that, “we have received tremendously positive feedback from both suppliers and architects and builders who have used this email service in the past couple months. It is our job to help make the demand and supply connections in the marketplace for certified wood, and this has proven to be probably the most useful tool yet. Because of this, we expect to see an increase in the use of FSC-certified wood in green building projects. The more FSC-certified wood that gets used in these projects, the less “controversial” wood, such as harvested from illegal or mismanaged sources, is drawn into the marketplace. That translates directly into positive impacts on the ground in the world’s working forests.”