Forest News Watch

U.S.: Green Building Council opens comment period on changes to LEED wood certification criteria

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has opened a 30-day public comment period for proposed changes in how the LEED Green Building Rating System awards points for the use of certified wood. The proposed credit language focuses on transparency, with requirements that any forest certification scheme must meet in order to be LEED-recognized. Currently, only FSC-certified wood products are eligible for LEED credits. This benchmark for certification programs includes governance, technical and standards and substance, accreditation and auditing, and chain-of-custody and labeling. "The proposed evolution of the certified wood credit in LEED will help focus the forest certification conversation on outcomes and performance," said Brendan Owens, Vice President of LEED Technical Development. USGBC began the process of re-examining the wood certification in 2006, when its Board of Directors charged the Steering Committee back in mid-2006 to study the question and propose revised credit language... Read more...

U.S.: RAN issues reaction to Forest News Watch interview with Boise Cascade CEO Tom Stephens

Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has issued a reaction to our April 2007 Leadership Interview with the CEO of Boise Cascade, Tom Stephens. In particular, RAN focuses on Stephens' response to a question regarding an agreement with RAN and its effects on Boise's daily operations, the 2003 "Boise and the Environment" document. In the interview, Stephens responded that he was "not aware of any agreement between the two parties," neither before or after his joining the company in 2004, but also clarified that the events took place before he joined the company, saying "I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment on it." RAN concedes that the document is not a formal agreement and is referred to in PR materials as a "statement," "policy," or "commitment," but maintains that the statement was significant and reported in top media outlets, and thus should not be dismissed. According to RAN, Boise's initial press release described its "commitment to work with environmental groups to s...

Read more...

Canada: 15 years later, a new rally is planned to urge the protection of Clayoquot Sound

A rally geared towards the protection of Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island in BC is planned for Saturday, 2 August, in nearby Tofino. While the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve (designated in 2000) is under increasing pressure from new logging and mining projects, local NGO Friends of Clayoquot Sound (FOCS) has launched a new campaign for protection of the ancient temperate rainforest with support from organizations including ForestEthics and Greenpeace. The campaign and rally are both directed at threats additional to logging, unlike the historical 1993 campaign for Clayoquot; two of the specific threats FOCS is highlighting are the exploratory drilling phase of a potential open-pit copper mine already started on Catface Mountain, and a private hydroelectric project for the intact Bulson Valley is being applied for. At the rally in Tofino, which will involve speakers, music, news updates, and action information, FOCS and supporters will call for a conservation solution for Clayoquot c...

Read more...