Millworker/Casework Installer CoC

Personally, I am not aware of any signficant changes to the LEED Certified Wood Documentation requirements OR FSC COC requirements as they apply to the majority of projects. To avoid confusion or interpretation errors, I am going to post quotes (+ links) on this topic without comment that are directly from both FSC (Date: Mid 2010) and the Green Building Certification Institute (Date: Late 2011):

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POST ON THE FSC United States WEBSITE:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LEED "CERTIFIED WOOD CREDIT" posted around July 19th, 2010 and located here: http://us.fsc.org/frequently-asked-questions.296.htm

"As of July 19th, 2010, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) published several addenda relating to the MRc7 credit for FSC certified wood which can be found here. The addenda clarify two important issues relating to who needs to be FSC certified and partial claims:

Organizations that install an FSC-certified product or products on the project building/site (typically project contractors or subcontractors such as flooring installers or framing contractors, but also furniture installers and the like) do not require FSC CoC certification as long as they do not modify the product’s packaging or form except as is required for installation. All other organizations will need to be FSC CoC certified in order for the certified wood products they fabricate and install to count toward MRc7. This includes organizations like cabinetmakers and architectural millworkers that manufacture products off-site and then install them on-site (even if considered a subcontractor)

No partial claims can be made for products that contain FSC certified wood but are not sold with an FSC claim. This means that a company cannot mix FSC-certified components with non-certified components that are not eligible inputs into FSC Mixed products in an assembly and get credit for the certified portion. The product can only count towards the MRc7 point if the product complies with FSC Chain-of-Custody rules for Mixed products and the invoice carries a valid FSC claim and chain of custody number

Both clarifications further align the USGBC LEED documentation requirements with the FSC CoC standard"

For more informatin link to: http://us.fsc.org/frequently-asked-questions.296.htm

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Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) PDF Download:

LEED PROJECT SUBMITTAL TIPS: NEW CONSTRUCTION 2009 Published on 12/23/ 2011 and located here: http://www.gbci.org/Libraries/Certification_Resources/LEED_Project_Submi...

QUOTE:
"Remember that valid FSC chain of custody numbers for each FSC certified wood product must be provided.

Be sure that the products on the vendor invoices for all new wood products are separated on a line item basis. Invoices need to include the dollar value of each product as well as vendor's COC certificate numbers for all FSC certified wood.

Be sure that the table includes the product name, vendor, product cost, wood component percentage, and FSC certified wood percentage of product shown on vendor invoice.

If furniture is included in the materials calculations be sure that it is included consistently across MR Credits 3-7.

Remember to upload cut sheets for 100% of the materials"

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Hope this helps to provide a little clarity,
Doug

Hi Michelle - It has been my long time practice to interpret the situation you describe above, for LEED Certifications, in the following way: A millwork/ casework subcontractor that is installing FSC Certified assemblies, provided by a different FSC Certified Vendor and / or Fabricator, would Not need to be FSC Certified if they are Not making modifications to the product beyond that needed for installation. I.E. They are playing a roll in the FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) that is very similar to a "furniture installer and the like" as noted in FSC's LEED FAQ quoted further above and located at: http://us.fsc.org/frequently-asked-questions.296.htm

Best,
Doug

Michelle - My wife has had her own small business for over 10 years and I know that it can be very challenging.

I must say that the certification requirements above are not really new. The LEED Certified Wood credit has functioned roughly this way for many years, so it shouldn't really be an a new burden from that perspective.

I must ask, have your fabricators looked closely at the requirements for FSC Certification of their operations? I would not assume anything about what the requirements are as FSC has now made provisions for small business through Group Certifications. Here's a link:

http://us.fsc.org/coc-group-certification.286.htm

Of course Coc certification will not be complelely hassle free - but without some accountability (which is what causes the hassles), the certification would not be of any value. There is a signficant difference between FSC forestry / Coc requirements and other forest certifications or status quo forestry...I.E. being FSC Coc certified means more than a piece of paper - it has real environmental and social value.

If you are wondering what the differences really are and why FSC is important, I published an article in Trim Tab (the Cascadia Green Building Council's quarterly publication) last summer titled "FSC+Better? What is the status of the Wood Certification Gap?" The article compares 5 key features of all the forest certifications operating in the U.S. and can be found here:

http://www.pageturnpro.com/Cascadia-Green-Building-Council/41769-Trim-Ta...

Best Regards,
Doug

What does it require at commercial furniture installation service?