Public Comment Opens on Newly Proposed Evolution of Certified Wood Credits in LEED®

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) opened the First 30-day Public Comment Period for proposed changes in how the LEED Green Building Rating System™ awards points for the use of certified wood on Friday, August 8. The focus of the proposed LEED credit language changes is on transparency, and USGBC's goal is to design a clear set of metrics that any forest certification system must meet in order to be recognized within LEED. Currently, only wood products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council are eligible for LEED points.

Under the newly proposed credit language, wood certification systems would be evaluated for eligibility to earn points towards LEED certification against a measurable benchmark that includes:

• Governance;
• Technical/Standards Substance;
• Accreditation and Auditing; and
• Chain of Custody and Labeling.

Wood certification programs that are, after an objective analysis, deemed compliant with the benchmarks would be recognized by LEED, according to USGBC.

USGBC has been studying this issue for two years with input from numerous stakeholders, and with the assistance of experts from the Yale Program on Forest Policy and Governance and Life Cycle Assessment experts at Sylvatica. (CLICK HERE to read more about the research conducted.)

The public comment period will be open for 30 days until 5 p.m. PST on Sunday, September 7.

CLICK HERE for more information or to comment on the proposed changes to the LEED rating system.

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