Copyright 2001, Environmental News Network
September 25, 2001
By Stacey Fowler, Environmental News Network

A revolution in the way we build is underway as architects, city planners, government officials, homeowners, and others embrace green forest products. Distributors and manufacturers of building materials from lumber to floor polish are responding to increasing consumer interest in sustainable development issues.

In recent years the green forestry and architecture movements have grown considerably and rapidly. “It’s not a coincidence that they are both catching fire simultaneously because one is really driving the other,” said Jason Grant, director of trade and market development for the Certified Forest Products Council (CFPC). The independent nonprofit voluntary business initiative promotes responsible forest practices by working to build the market for independently certified forest products.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) governs independent certifying agencies. FSC is endorsed by major environmental organizations including the National Resources Defense Council, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Wilderness Society.

According to Grant, CFPC is evolving into a trade association of sorts for the ecological forest products industry.

And the industry is booming. Grant cites 8.3 million acres of FSC certified well-managed forest in the U.S. alone and a whopping 60 million acres globally. "And, there are some 390 U.S. companies who are trading in certified forest products all across the value chain from primary manufacturers to retailers," said Grant. He points out that this growth is especially remarkable when you consider that the whole process of forest product certification began less than a decade ago.

Grant said that FSC certification relies on three broad components that relate to forestry and forest management. The first is environmental. “Really what they’re looking for when it comes to natural forest management,” said Grant, “is that the harvesting doesn’t deteriorate the health of complex forest ecosystems.”

Foresters must harvest wood using methods like selective felling and small, localized clear-cuts that are widely spread apart so as to minimize impacts on a forest. Such measures ensure a forest’s ability to regenerate and also serve to preserve the biodiversity of the ecosystem.

FSC also considers social and economic factors when certifying forest products. “A forestry operation has to be economically viable as well as do the right thing for the environment and local communities for it to be sustainable in the long-term,” said Grant. He emphasized that though certification can be a complex process, it boils down to identifying forestry operations that are environmentally sound, socially responsible, and economically viable.

"There is a profound change happening in the built environment, and it is extremely positive," said Tim Taylor, president and CEO of Seattle, Washington’s Built-e, Inc. The “e” stands for environment and the company is a wholesaler that distributes green building products to retailers throughout the nation. The Environmental Home Center, Built-e's retail outlet, has been operating in Seattle for nine years.

Taylor feels the key to selling green building products is "marrying information about the products with access to the products." Therefore, Built-e doesn't try to compete with other building materials retailers. Rather, its role is to identify and work with manufacturers to research and test sustainable building products and ultimately distribute that information as well as the products to retailers around the country.

"We believe there are plenty of retail building material stores in this country, in fact, too many," said Taylor. "What we wanted to do is build a business where we use what we know about the products, our access to manufacturers, and our understanding of the information that needs to accompany products to help other building materials retailers sell the products," he continued.

"All of the products we carry will have the same four characteristics that all building materials should have," said Taylor. "They're of an extremely high quality, they perform well, they are priced appropriately, and they are provided with an adequate level of service," he added.

In addition to these traditional characteristics, Built-e's products must meet a series of environmental criteria. "They will be more energy efficient, more resource efficient, and better for your health," explained Taylor.

One product that Built-e markets is a German plant-based wood floor finish. Taylor says the finish is V.O.C. compliant (V.O.C.s are volatile organic compounds and are regulated by law), it's durable, it's beautiful, and it's repairable. "If you have a scratch in a year or if there are damaged areas due to traffic, you can sand out the area, refinish it, and you don't have to sand down the whole floor." All of this makes for a much more sustainable product.

Taylor noted that ounce for ounce his Built-e floor finish is more expensive than the generic polyurethane you might find on the hardware store shelf. But closer inspection reveals that this sustainable product will actually save money in the long run.

Taylor explained that the plant-based finish requires two applications as opposed to three, it can be applied much thinner and so most of the floor finishers who install it will charge the same rate to use it as they would the typical polyurethane. "It costs the same amount as the traditional product it replaces, it's more beautiful and more natural, and it allows you to repair the floor so over a 7 to 10 year period you can save a significant amount of money."

Taylor maintains that it is this sort of information about sustainable building materials and wood products that needs to be presented to the consumer. "I think there's a huge gap in general understanding of what certified forest products are all about," said Taylor.

Grant agrees that the general public needs to continue to better understand the reasoning behind certified forest products. "At the end of the day it's about forest conservation worldwide," he said. "Forests are in trouble, and I don't think that's news to anyone," said Taylor. He continued, "It's a well-documented fact that in the last several hundred years we've lost over 30 percent of the world's forest cover and the remainder is going fast and part of the reason for that is irresponsible logging, frankly."

Grant admits it's a complex matter that involves issues of poverty, overpopulation, and conversion of forest to cropland. But, he says, one of the keys to restoring the world's forests is an international movement towards sustainable forestry practices. "The public's interest in this is in maintaining a supply of wood and paper products that we all use," said Grant.

"But it's also in healthy forests and all that they provide us from recreational values, spiritual values, environmental services like regulating the global climate, providing habitat for half of the plant and animal species on the planet, and providing us with clean air and water," he said.

Editor’s note: The Certified Forest Products International Conference and Showcase scheduled to take place September 26-28 in Atlanta, GA has been postponed due to the tragic events of September 11th. Error: Unable to read footer file.