There is no denying the fact that the 'Green' movement is not just a passing trend. NBMDA is committed to providing members with information and resources to learn more about what 'green' means and informing members about how to tackle the issues that matter to them most. Below you will find a general information on Green Building and Forest Certification including FAQs and helpful terms**. You will also find links to additional resources on building green.

Green Building - Frequently Asked Questions

What is green building?
Green building is a nationwide movement to improve the design, site selection, energy efficiency, water efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality of commercial, residential and institutional buildings, new and old.  The US Green Building Council (USGBC) is the leader in providing education on greening commercial, mixed-use and institutional buildings; while the National Association Home Builders (NAHB) has developed a set of guidelines for their members.

What is a green product? 
That depends on who is asking and what is motivating their interest.  Some folks are interested in green building products because they can earn their project’s credits in a number of green building standards.  In this case, you should ask them specifically which green building program they are adhering to and the product requirements or certifications that are called out by that program.

However, others may be more interested in their individual choice to purchase more responsible building materials to decrease their environmental and social liability.  In this case it’s best to learn what your customer’s values are and make products suggestions based on what you learn.

Green products can include pre-consumer or post-consumer recycled content; no added urea-formaldehyde binders; low or no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) coatings or paint; originate from a local source; certified wood; agrifiber; and a number of other attributes.  Many manufacturers are making ‘green’ products claims but only those that seek a specific product certification will truly be accepted by the market.  A green product claim without verification by an outside party is not worth very much.

How do green building projects and certified forest products interact? 
As forest products are a key building component many of the green building programs have provided credits for projects that use a certain amount of certified forest products in their projects.  So by using certified wood products a project can earn credits towards a specific green building certification.  Not all green building programs accept all certified wood products so please ensure that you check with the green building professionals to ensure that you will purchase the product that gives you the best chance of earning credits.

How are LEED v3 credits structured?
There are seven sections where a project can earn LEED credits those sections include:

• Site Selection (SS)
• Water Efficiency (WE)
• Energy & Atmosphere (EA)
• Materials & Resources (M&R)*
• Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)*
• Innovation Design (ID)
• Regional Priority Credit (s)

*There sections pertain to building products are M&R, IEQ and the Regional Priority Credit..

Where does the FSC chain-of-custody end for LEED projects?
According to USGBC’s Material & Resources (MR) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) there is a distinction between contractors/sub-contractors and vendors.  Contractors and sub-contractors do not have to earn FSC COC certification because they are technically the end of the Chain-of-Custody (final point of sale); however they do need to provide invoices to the LEED project team members demonstrating the dollar amount, on a line item basis, of the FSC products they purchased. Vendors do need to be FSC COC certified because they are selling products to the project contractor or sub-contractor.

Another major distinction is whether a company ‘installs’ or “does not install.’  Companies that ‘install’ products are viewed as subcontractors who have entered a contract to provide services to the contractor through a bid process.  These ‘installing’ subcontractors are viewed, by USGBC MR TAG, as the final point of sale and are not required to be FSC COC certified.  However, they do need to produce invoices, from their FSC COC vendors, for the LEED project team.  Companies that ‘do not install’ finished products are viewed as vendors and need to be FSC COC certified.

How are LEED credits assessed per project?
Credits for LEED projects are reviewed once during the design phase and then at the end of the construction phase.  A member of the project team (owner, architecture firm, general contractor, green building consultant) pulls the M&R credits and supporting documents together and submits them to USGBC for review.  USGBC has several LEED credit review contractors that they use to review the credits and supporting documents. After 30 days, USGBC sends the report back to the project team with ‘pending’ or ‘denied’ credits.  The project team then has 30 days to comply with the report that will be submitted to USGBC for a second review.  Once this second review is complete the project is awarded its certification.

Green Building Terms

Name	Acronym	Description
United States Green Building Council	USGBC	Non profit organization that promotes sustainable building practices.  Administrators of the LEED program.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design	LEED	Voluntary sustainable building program administered by United States Green Building Council
LEED Material and Resources Credit 3	MR 3	LEED resource reuse credit
LEED Material and Resources Credit 4	MR 4	LEED recycled content credit
LEED Material and Resources Credit 5	MR 5	LEED local/regional credit
LEED Material and Resources Credit 6	MR 6	LEED rapidly renewable credit
LEED Material and Resources Credit 7	MR 7	LEED certified wood credit
LEED Indoor Environmental Quality Credit 4.4 Composite Wood	IEQ 4.4	LEED indoor environmental quality credit
LEED New Construction v3	LEED NC	Latest LEED checklist for the design and construction of new buildings (commercial/institutional buildings)
LEED Commercial Interior	LEED CI	LEED checklist for tenant improvements on commercial/institutional buildings
LEED Existing Building	LEED EB	LEED checklist for pre-existing buildings (commercial/institutional buildings)
LEED Core and Shell	LEED CS	LEED checklist for the design and construction of the structure and exterior of new buildings (commercial/institutional buildings)
LEED Retail	LEED Retail	LEED checklist for new retail buildings
LEED for Homes	LEED for Homes	LEED checklist for new residential buildings
Sustainable Project Rating Tool	SPiRT	Army Corp. of engineers sustainable building program
The Green Building Initiative	GBI	A non-profit organization that has developed the Green Globes on line green building checklist.
Green Globes	Green Globes	An online green building standard that is administered by the Green Building Initiative (GBI)
National Association of Home Builders – Green Building Guidelines	NAHB – Green Guidelines	A set of green building guidelines that was developed by a national trade association to be customized by regional chapters.

Frequently Asked Questions – Forest Certification

What is forest certification?
Forest certification provides a mechanism for consumers to choose between products from responsible forestry as opposed to buying products from irresponsible forestry.  
Since the early 1990's, forest certification systems have grown both in the number of manufacturing participants and in forested acres. Currently, there are more than 90 different certification systems, including the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), worldwide administered by government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), trade associations, and other entities. Each of these certification systems was created to demonstrate that a given forestry operation is meeting a particular set of standards. However, not all of these certification systems were created equal and not all of them require a transparent, multi-stakeholder process. 

What’s the difference between certified wood and ‘regular’ wood?
Certified wood originates from forests that are managed to a high environmental standard.  Certified and non-certified forests and wood products are subject to the same grading standards and other “quality” attributes. The big difference is that certified wood promotes the “sustainable” management of the world’s forests for current and future generations.

What is the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)?
FSC is a non-profit organization that created and administers an international forest management certification program.  FSC certified forests are managed for environmental, economic, and social benefits and the program is endorsed by many major environmental groups. 

Currently, the FSC program is the only forest certification that is endorsed by all green building programs nationwide.

What is the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)?
SFI program participants practice sustainable forestry on all the lands they manage. They also influence millions of additional acres through the training of loggers and foresters in best management practices and landowner outreach programs.

This unique commitment to sustainable forestry recognizes that all forest landowners, not
just SFI program participants, play a critical role in ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of our forests.  Currently, SFI certificated products are endorsed by some regional NAHB Green Home programs and Green Globes.

What is Chain-of-Custody (COC), and how much is it?The chain-of-custody refers to the chain of “owners” of a given wood product as it is sold from forest to mill to manufacturer to distributor. An FSC chain-of-custody certificate licenses a company to buy and sell FSC products.  To receive a certificate, a company undergoes an audit by an accredited FSC certifier and demonstrates the ability to accurately ‘track’ the FSC products through its operation, and ensure that certified products never get mixed with non-certified products.  The cost of a certificate audit varies widely depending on the size of the company, complexity of their process, etc. 

Who needs to be FSC Chain-of-Custody (COC) certified?
According to FSC International, any operation making, changing, trading, re-labeling or repackaging FSC-certified products needs to be COC certified in order to use the FSC trademarks and to enable its customers to make an FSC claim about these products.

Why can’t my regular supplier just buy the material from a certified source?
A product is no longer certified, with a few exceptions, once it is bought and sold by an uncertified company.  The purpose of the Chain-of-Custody (COC) is to maintain a paper trail from the certified forest to the end-user through the entire supply chain.

Forest Certification Terms

Name	Acronym	Description
Forest Stewardship Council	FSC	International forest certification program
Smartwood	SW	Accredited certifying body for FSC and rediscovered wood programs
Scientific Certifications Systems	SCS	Accredited certifying body for FSC forest management program
Soil Association	SA	Accredited certifying body for FSC forest management program
SGS QUALIFOR	SGS	Accredited certifying body for FSC forest management program
Sustainable Forestry Initiative	SFI	North American forest certification program
Chain-of-Custody	COC	The chain-of-custody refers to the chain of “owners” of a given wood product as it is sold from forest to mill to manufacturer to distributor.

**Green Building and Forest Certification content courtesy of Forest Products Solutions.

Additional Resources

• U.S. Green Building Council
• National Association of Home Builders