Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from 35 different states have urged the U.S. Green Building Council to “accept all credible forest certification systems for qualification under the LEED rating system” including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
Following the letter from Members of Congress, the USGBC received a petition with roughly 6,000 signatories calling for LEED recognition of all “wood and paper products certified to independent, respected and credible standards” including SFI, ATFS, FSC, PEFC and CSA. The Canadian Council of Forest Ministers and individual provincial ministers also wrote letters to the USGBC stating their support for credible forest certification standards.
Currently, more than three quarters of certified forests in North America are certified to standards that are not recognized by the USGBC.
More than three quarters of certified forests in North America are certified to standards not currently recognized by USGBC.
“For the sake of our forests, our communities, the tens of thousands of family foresters who make their livelihoods from forestry, and the future of green building across North America and globally, it is time for USGBC to do the right thing and recognize all credible forest certification standards, including SFI, ATFS, PEFC, CSA and FSC," said Kathy Abusow, president and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
