I would think by recognizing other forest certification programs for this credit USGBC could bring down the premium for certified wood materials in the market, thereby reducing first cost to owners pursuing this credit for their LEED projects. This would be a positive change and encourage more owners/developers to pursue this credit IMHO since it is not a huge point advantage for projects using a substantial amount of wood. There would have to be common standards for each certification program to meet to keep the integrity of the certification.
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Nadav Malin
PresidentBuildingGreen, Inc.
LEEDuser Moderator
839 thumbs up
October 15, 2009 - 9:35 am
USGBC is now trying to do exactly what you propose--create a "benchmark" of common standards that any forest certification program endorsed by LEED would have to meet. The second public comment period on that benchmark just ended, so we should be hearing soon where that efforts stands. Here's a BuildingGreen.com article explaining it: http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/9/25/USGBC-Revising-F...