The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has proposed a major change for certified wood in its LEED Rating System. Previously, LEED awarded credit to projects that used wood certified to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for half of their wood-based materials. Now, USGBC has broadened the credit, recognizing any forest-certification program that meets certain criteria.

The proposed change is a response to criticism that LEED favors one forest-certification program, FSC, over others—particularly the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a rival to the FSC that is perceived by some environmentalists as less rigorous. More broadly, the revision brings the credit into line with a trend in LEED toward using transparent criteria to decide which third-party certification programs to reference.

In the proposed change, the credit would recognize any certification program that meets the criteria of a “Forest Certification System Benchmark.” FSC appears likely to meet the criteria. But other programs, including SFI and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), may have some difficulty with parts of the benchmark system, including a ban on genetically modified organisms, an emphasis on integrated pest management and bans on certain chemicals, and recognition of aboriginal land and tenure rights. All of the benchmark criteria must be met for recognition in LEED.

For more info see: http://www.usgbc.org/