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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
VICTORY:
Top U.S. Homebuilders Vow to End Endangered Wood Use
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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org
http://forests.org/ -- Forest
Conservation Archives
http://www.ClimateArk.org/ -- Climate Ark
Portal and Archive
03/31/00
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY
Just
days before planned protests, the two largest United States home
builders
have agreed to eliminate use of wood from endangered old
growth
forests, phase in certified wood alternatives, implement wood-
use
efficiency measures, and identify non-wood alternatives. This
represents
another stunning victory for Rainforest Action Network and
their
allies' vision of targeting corporate consumption of old-growth
timbers. "Loggers operating in endangered
forests -- from British
Columbia
to the Southeastern U.S. and from Alaska to Indonesia - will
be
forced to transform their logging practices or they will find their
markets
will quickly disappear," said a RAN spokesperson. This is a
significant
step towards a permanent end for old growth logging. As
RAN
point out below--this is our, the forest conservation movement's,
victory;
as we grow more formidable every day.
g.b.
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TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: NATION'S TOP HOMEBUILDERS VOW TO END
ENDANGERED WOOD USE
Source: Rainforest Action Network
221 Pine St., Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94104
415-398-4404
www.ran.org
Status: Distribute freely, with credit given to
source
Date: March 31, 2000
Everyone,
Score
another victory for the grassroots! RAN
has received letters in
the
past two days from the country's two largest home builders, Centex
Homes
and Kaufman & Broad, agreeing to our complete set of demands!
Both of
these companies agreed to eliminate their use of wood from
endangered
forests, phase in certified wood alternatives, implement
wood-use
efficiency measures in new home construction, and identify
non-wood
alternatives.
These
companies build a combined total of more than 40,000 homes
annually
and together, set the standard for the entire home
construction
industry. Home builders use an estimated 72% of all
lumber
consumed in the U.S. This truly is an historic moment, one in
which
grassroots activism is causing a revolution in the logging
industry. Congratulations American Lands, Free the
Planet, Coastal
Rainforest
Coalition, Student Environmental Action Coalition, Sierra
Student
Coalition, Rainforest Relief, Earthculture, Global Response,
Action
Resource Center, and many others! This
is everyone's victory.
By the
way, no, it's not a coincidence that both of these companies
capitulated
days before our upcoming Day of Action. It is undeniable
now
that people don't support continued forest destruction, in old
growth
forests or any other endangered area.
Now it seems as though
many
large consumers are getting the same message.
Congratulations
everyone!
RAN's
press release and letter from Centex below.
BREAKING
NEWS
For
Immediate Release: March 31, 2000
Contacts:
Michael Brune (415) 398-4404, mbrune@ran.org;
Jennifer Krill, jkrill@ran.org
NATION'S
TOP HOMEBUILDERS VOW TO END ENDANGERED WOOD USE
Huge
win for environmentalists as pressure brings dramatic turnabout
Heralding
a major shift in the conscience of the U.S. construction
industry,
two of the nation's largest homebuilders
-- Centex Homes
and
Kaufman & Broad - this week agreed to stop using wood from
endangered
old growth forests in new home construction, making them
the
first in the nation to do so.
"These
agreements signal a trend that is irreversible" declared
Michael
Brune, Old Growth Campaign director for Rainforest Action
Network
(RAN). "A new ethic is emerging in which old growth logging is
no
longer acceptable. The entire home construction industry will be
compelled
to meet or beat this new market standard."
The
revolutionary promises by Centex and Kaufman & Broad - made in
letters
dated March 30 and March 29 respectively -- are the result of
lengthy
negotiations and pressure from RAN, the Coastal Rainforest
Coalition,
the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups.
Nationwide
protests against the two builders had been scheduled for
April
1, but were called off after the companies' last-minute
capitulations.
"Loggers
operating in endangered forests -- from British Columbia to
the
Southeastern U.S. and from Alaska to Indonesia - will be forced to
transform
their logging practices or they will find their markets will
quickly
disappear," said Brune.
Centex
Homes pulls in some $5 billion in annual sales and boasts more
than
400 developments nationwide, and Kaufman & Broad builds some
22,000
homes annually, making the two the largest volume homebuilders
in the
nation.
The
U.S. homebuilding industry is the country's largest user of wood
products,
using a whopping 72 percent of the lumber consumed
nationwide
to build an estimated 1.2 million new homes annually. The
average
new home in the U.S. uses well over 16,000 board feet of
lumber.
Most
homes built today contain dozens of wood components that
originate
in the world's last remaining old growth forests: Cedar for
tongue-and-groove
planking and shingles; Douglas Fir for dimensional
lumber;
Hemlock for molding and trim; Lauan/Meranti for hollow-core
doors,
plywood and paneling; Mahogany for decorative exterior doors.
Old
growth forests are home to some of the planet's oldest and largest
trees,
some as old as 4,000 years. These forests are also home to more
than
200 million indigenous people worldwide, provide habitat for a
majority
of the Earth's plant and animal species and are critical to
moderating
the effects of climate change. In the U.S., less than 4
percent
of our original ancient forests are still standing, and
worldwide,
logging and other causes of deforestation have fragmented
all but
20 percent.
The
announcements from Centex and Kaufman & Broad are the latest in a
wave of
corporate commitments against the use of old growth wood. RAN
worked
with a coalition of grassroots groups, including American Lands
Alliance,
Free-The-Planet, Student Environmental Action Coalition,
Sierra
Student Coalition, Rainforest Relief, Earth Culture, Action
Resource
Center, and dozens of other organizations in a two-year
campaign
to convince retail giant Home Depot to phase out endangered
forest
products. Following Home Depot's compliance last August, other
major
retailers, from Ikea to Wickes Lumber, have followed suit.
Building
on that success, RAN launched its campaign with homebuilders
Jan. 14
at the National Association of Homebuilders convention in
Dallas,
Texas, where activists inflated a giant balloon shaped like a
chainsaw
during opening remarks by Newt Gingrich, hung two giant
banners
from convention center rafters and projected giant slide
messages
onto the sides of buildings.
"Just
as Home Depot shook the foundations of the home improvement
industry
by vowing to eliminate products from endangered forests last
summer,
this commitment by Centex and Kaufman & Broad brings us one
step
closer to a permanent end for old growth logging," Brune said.
Rainforest
Action Network works to protect the Earth's rainforests and
support
the rights of their inhabitants through education, grassroots
organizing
and non-violent direct action.
March 30,
2000
Mr.
Michael Brune
Rainforest
Action Network
221
Pine Street, Suite 500
San
Francisco, CA 94104
Dear
Michael:
Thank
you for your March 29 letter regarding our policy to eliminate
wood
and wood products from endangered forests.
We recognize
and agree that certain forests are threatened.
We want
to help
solve that problem. I hope our policy
clearly communicated
this by
stating Centex Homes will eliminate use of wood from
endangered
forests. Centex Homes has long
recognized, and embraced,
its
commitment to sound environmental stewardship.
The elimination of
wood
and wood products from endangered forests is an extension, and
validation,
of such commitment. Preservation of sensitive lands and
habitats
are priorities for Centex Homes, which is why we have
supported
and continue to support The Nature Conservancy.
Centex
Homes is a leader in wood-use efficiency practices and shares
the
desire for efficient wood use. A number
of alternative materials
are
used in Centex Homes' operations. We remain committed to our
efficient
wood-use practices, and the evaluation and use of
alternative
materials where practical. Home design
improvement is not
a
static process. We continually look for
ways to reduce consumption
of
materials and promote environmentally efficient construction.
As an
industry leader committed to saving the world's endangered
forests,
Centex Homes will, by the end of 2002, eliminate from our
product
mix wood from endangered forests - including certain lauan,
redwood
and cedar products. We will notify our
vendors of this policy
by
April 15 and demand their compliance. Centex Homes will conduct an
audit
to determine the source of all existing wood products that could
originate
in endangered forests. We will work with our suppliers to
document
sources of wood products used in our operations.
To
ensure progress, the company has formed the Environmentally
Responsible
Construction Task Force to manage the process and report
to management
on areas for improvement. This task
force will evaluate
the
results of our preliminary survey, recently completed, that
provided
summary information about our wood purchases.
The task force
has
responsibility to complete a more detailed audit so that we may
state
with an acceptable level of certainty that the wood supplied to
us by
lumber yards, distributors and framers is not coming from
endangered
forests. Independently verified
certification systems,
with
appropriate sensitivity to economic, ecological and social
concerns,
will be part of the program.
The
task force will be charged with identifying alternatives to wood.
Serving
on the task force will be our senior officers responsible for
technology
and purchasing.
Centex
Homes is recognized for its leadership in providing quality and
affordable
housing for first-time and move-up homebuyers.
For years,
we have
helped Habitat for Humanity provide housing to needy
Americans.
Concurrent with committing to a system to eliminate wood
from
endangered forests, we must also ensure that we are not
unreasonably
adding to the costs and availability of affordable homes
for
American families.
We
believe this captures the substance and spirit of your requests and
hope
that they meet with your support, as indicated in your letter and
our
phone conversations. We appreciate your
hard work on this and
wish
you the best of luck in your mission.
It is important that we
all
work toward preserving sensitive lands and ecological habitats.
We are
committed to that goal.
Sincerely
yours,
Andrew
J. Hannigan
President
& COO
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