The Governor of the U.S. State of Maine, Paul LePage, signed an executive order yesterday directing that "any new or expanded state buildings shall incorporate 'Green Building' standards that give certification credits equally to forest products grown, manufactured, and certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), American Tree Farm System (ATFS), and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) systems."

"This policy is an important development in our common endeavour to promote the advancement and recognition of certified sustainable forest management in the use of wood in construction." said Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC International.

With only 9 % of the world's forests certified to sustainable forest management systems such as PEFC, inclusive green building policies are of significant importance in advancing the use of certified wood, arguably the world's most environmentally friendly building material.¹

The policy breaks new ground by effectively giving notice to green building councils with discriminatory policies to stop artificially blocking wood from certified sustainable sources or risk being bypassed. Internationally, a wide range of green building councils in a number of countries, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the US are already promoting the use of wood through inclusive policies.

However, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), has been slow in changing its policy. While its Pilot Credit 43, released in June 201, recognizes all forest certification standards, its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification system has maintained an exclusive approach and only accepts FSC, risking the advancement of sustainable forest management by effectively acting as a disincentive for the construction industry to use wood.

"It sends a strong message to US Green Buildings Council (USGBC), whose 2012 version of LEED is currently undergoing development, to recognize all forest certification standards such as PEFC (including SFI, ATFS, and CSA) and FSC equally in its LEED rating system²," added Mr Gunneberg.

In a news release announcing the new executive order, Governor LePage stated "We believe that by supporting the full range of forest certification programs, we are advancing Maine's forest industry and the interests of our forest landowners in local, national, and global competition for market share... We are also protecting our valuable natural resources and traditional outdoor heritage."

More than 2.8 million hectares (seven million acres) are certified to the PEFC-endorsed SFI Standard in Maine. Globally, about two-thirds of the total certified forest area is managed in compliance with PEFC International's Sustainability Benchmarks.

Footnotes

1. Buildings are of fundamental importance in the climate change debate as they account for almost 40 per cent of the total carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. Studies estimate that carbon dioxide emissions wood-based buildings are 20 to 50 per cent lower than emissions associated with comparable steel- or concrete-based buildings.
2. The USGBC in June released Pilot Credit 43 which recognizes all forest certification standards but is limited to non-structural materials and is only a pilot. Builders, architects and others who appreciate the value of recognizing multiple forest certification standards are encouraged to post comments about Pilot Credit 43 on the LEED user site

Further Information

• Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard
• American Tree Farm System