We are designing two new residence life buildings for a University in New Jersey. The buildings contain wood products that are not readily available with FSC certification, such as SIP (Structural Insulated Panels) being used for the wall structure and enclosure which precludes us from achieving this credit. However, understanding the intent of the credit is to encourage the use of sustainably harvested wood in projects, we will be removing 129 mature oak trees from the campus, which is located in a developed community, to construct these buildings. We intend to have these trees harvested by a 3rd party FSC certified lumber company, using horses for low carbon impact in lieu of heavily machinery, and shipping the lumber via rail to Amish mills in Pennsylvania where the trees will be milled and made available to the local market as FSC certified wood for flooring, cabinetry, framing lumber, etc. As you know, obtaining FSC lumber is often costly and a schedule issue due to supply constraints and locality and often carries a heavy carbon footprint penalty as a result of shipping. Although the building itself is unable to use this resource, the quantity of FSC wood this project will inject in to the local market is substantial and meets the intent of the credit in promoting the use of FSC wood by providing a local, available, cost effective source for a significant quantity of FSC lumber. Would we still qualify for this credit or be eligible for an innovation credit as a result of this unique approach to responsibly managing and reusing this valuable resource?
The intent of MRc7 is to, "Encourage environmentally responsible forest management." While the described actions will increase the supply of a certified product they will only indirectly contribute to environmentally responsible forest management. In this case the forest/trees are being destroyed to provide a space for this building and does not relate to the credit intent. Applicable Internationally.