a guide for architects, builders and project owners looking to build with climate-smart materials
We recently became acquainted with this important organization that’s dedicated to responsible and sustainable forest management. Here’s an overview from their website, along with a link to guide for those in the design-build community looking to source climate-smart materials…
THE FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL provides independent assurance that the wood you buy supports forests managed to the highest standards. FSC balances the needs of all forest stakeholders – economic, social and environmental – through an open, member-led democracy.
The world’s most reputable environmental organizations – including the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, NRDC, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, and The Nature Conservancy – plus countless corporate partners and governments – recognize FSC as the most trusted certification system for forest management.
not all wood is the same
Laws alone are not enough to protect wildlife habitat, limit use of hazardous chemicals, and protect rivers, lakes and streams from harmful effects of destructive forestry.
As an architect, builder or developer, how can you know that the wood you use comes from a forest that is managed responsibly?
That’s where FSC comes in. FSC goes beyond legal requirements to:
- Prohibit deforestation
- Protect wildlife habitat
- Protect water quality
- Tightly restrict use of hazardous chemicals
- Ensure forests are managed at sustainable rates of growth and harvesting
- Protect rare, old growth forests
- Protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples
FSC® protects forest ecosystems
The Forest Stewardship Council was created in 1993 to halt deforestation and safeguard forest ecosystems using the power of the marketplace. A nonprofit organization, FSC sets voluntary standards by which forests are independently certified to help customers identify and purchase products from responsibly managed forests. Over the past 20 years, demand for FSC-certified products has grown dramatically. Today more than 400 million acres of forest are FSC certified, approximately 10 percent of the world’s working forests. In the US and Canada, more than 170 million acres are FSC certified. These ecosystems are protected from deforestation and maintained as healthy working forests.
For a handy guide to building with FSC, visit buildwithfsc.com.
