American Wood Council Statement on USDA Green Building Policy

WASHINGTON –American Wood Council President Robert Glowinski today released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement to promote the use of wood as a Green Building material.

“Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a three-part strategy that recognizes the role wood plays in construction as a green building material. I commend the Secretary and the Forest Service for its development and implementation, and for the leadership they are providing in recognizing the environmental advantages offered by wood. Wood is the perfect green building material because it is renewable, stores carbon that reduces greenhouse gases, and is energy efficient in both manufacturing and use.

“In addition to their use in all types of construction, wood products also provide for the American dream of home ownership. They have gotten it right by recognizing through science-based lifecycle analysis that harvesting, transporting, manufacturing and using lumber, panels, and engineered wood products yields fewer greenhouse gas air emissions and as part of thermally-efficient wall systems uses less total energy to produce than other commonly used construction products. I further commend USDA for recognizing Green Globes and the National Green Building Standard as appropriate rating tools to use in evaluating the environmental impact of buildings.

“We appreciate the efforts of Secretary Vilsack and USDA to develop this new plan to promote wood as a green building material, and we applaud his designation of wood and a preferable product for construction of Forest Service buildings. The wood products industry employs 360,000 people, and USDA’s pro-wood policy will not only help retain those manufacturing jobs, but make possible job growth as well. We look forward to working with them in this initiative.”