I am a big fan of FSC Certified wood and wood products. The Forest Stewardship Council oversees the management and production of wood, ensures that forests are not clear cut, that the rights of indigenous people are respected, that proper forest management protocols are observed, and that the wood that you buy has not been swapped out with other, poorly sourced product. The FSC has a chain of custody process that is in my opinion a model for other sustainable building materials.
Here are some highlights(Taken from the FSC Site):
- More than 100 million ha forest worldwide were certified to FSC standards in April 2008, distributed over 79 countries.
- FSC certified forests represent the equivalent of 7% of the world’s productive forests.
- FSC is the fastest growing forest certification system in the world (UN FAO, 2007)
- With over 7’500 certificates, the number of companies along the forest product supply chain committing to FSC certification peaked at 40% in 2007.
- The value of FSC labeled sales is estimated at over 20 billion USD.
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