Seattle, WA 10-03-07 - The Board of Directors of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council <http://www.cascadiagbc.org/> has officially endorsed Forest Stewardship Council <http://www.fscus.org/>  (FSC) certification as the only responsible and
sustainable standard, currently in the market, for protecting forests. 
 
The Cascadia Region includes Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia and also has individual members throughout the US and Canada.  It is one of three original chapters of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is the largest chapter of green building professionals in the U.S and Canada.
 
Cascadia CEO Jason F. McLennan announced the endorsement today. “As the interest in green building continues to grow, we feel it necessary to affirm that FSC certification provides the best protection for our forests. Other certification systems specifically championed by industry simply do not provide the same level of rigor and protection.”  
 
Using FSC lumber in building construction is the current standard for attaining points for Leadership in Environmental and Education Design (LEED) certification.  The LEED green building rating system is the national benchmark for high performance green buildings. Cascadia’s own international standard, known as the Living Building Challenge, only permits wood that is FSC or from salvaged sources.
 
The Cascadia chapter has been reviewing FSC and other proposed standards over the last several years.  McLennan notes that a healthy timber industry is particularly important in the Pacific Northwest and its long-term viability is crucial to the economy, local communities and the building industry.  “The FSC standard, more than any others that have been proposed, is our best hope for protecting habitat, reducing erosion, encouraging healthy salmon runs and protecting other species, while at the same time allowing for responsible logging”. He goes on to say “We can not afford to accept any watered down standards that allow for massive clear cutting and do not provide a chain of custody.  It is simply not sustainable in the long run”.
 
The Forest Stewardship Council is an international non-profit agency that certifies forests and wood processing all over the world. FSC-certified lumber comes from forests that are managed to promote diversity and protect habitat even as they supply wood for construction.  Over 123 million acres of forests around the world have been FSC-certified and the current global market for FSC wood products is estimated at more than $5 billion.