i had been wondering about this since i was thumbing through some mag in a doctor's office a few weeks back and it had one of those 3 page articles all about how to *go green.* one of the so called tips was to use certed lumber for a deck instead of the composite stuff. i thought that was a very strange thing to say. now it becomes much clearer. how low will they go? apparently just as low as it takes.-joe
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original-newstandard‘Green-stamping’ of Timber Companies Comes Under Scrutinyby
Kari LydersenConservationists say a major certifier of environmentally “sustainable” foresting practices in the US offers its approval too easily and is too hesitant to take action against firms that harm the environment.Jan. 12 – The buzzword "green" has become a valuable marketing asset in the timber industry, but environmentalists say it is applied all-too readily, as one of the main certification programs merely provides a toothless form of "green-stamping."
In December, two conservation groups filed complaints with board members operating the certification program, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, asking them to take a hard look at two companies' practices and demand changes. As consumers look for ecologically friendly products in everything from Christmas cards to furniture, environmentalists also see the challenges as an important test of the Initiative's own credibility in designating such products.
The complaints involve Plum Creek Timber, a major logging and real estate firm in the Northeast, and Weyerhaeuser, the largest timber company in the Pacific Northwest. Both companies' CEOs sit on the fifteen-person Sustainable Forestry Board, along with three other industry representatives, five CEOs of environmental groups and five members from the broader forestry field.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine complains that the Initiative has certified Plum Creek as "sustainable," even though last year, Maine fined the company $57,000 for illegal logging – the largest such penalty ever levied by the state.
According to internal documents obtained from various Maine agencies by the Natural Resources Council and reviewed by The NewStandard, Plum Creek allegedly committed several violations of state law, including logging too many trees without a permit, developing a power-line corridor without a permit, and polluting streams. Plum Creek also allegedly logged aggressively in deer wintering habitats, making them inhospitable for the animals during the harsh season.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative's certification of Weyerhaeuser flies in the face of the Seattle Audubon Society' insistence that the corporation is to blame for harming endangered spotted owls with its logging in southwest Washington.
Under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative's rules, Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek have 45 days to respond to the challenges. After that, Initiative staff will appoint one environmentalist, one forestry expert and one independent auditor to investigate the situation.
Bill Banzhaf, president of the Sustainable Forestry Board, told The NewStandard an investigation could lead to the complaints being dropped, or the companies could be ordered to make changes to maintain certification. The organization could also choose to decertify the companies if it finds they cannot comply with its criteria. Banzhaf said no company has been decertified in the past, though one was ordered to change its practices to maintain its certification.
Industry-Friendly Alternative?
The American Forest & Paper Association, an industry group, created the Sustainable Forestry Initiative in 1994. According to Banzhaf, the group currently certifies about 84 companies for activities in 126 million acres of forest.
Some environmentalists have long described the Initiative as a façade. They say corporations support it as an industry-friendly alternative to the Forest Stewardship Council, an international certification body with stricter standards and monitoring procedures.
Banzhaf said the Sustainable Forestry Initiative did have problems with neutrality in the 1990s, but has been completely independent of the American Forest & Paper Association since 2002.
Daniel Hall, of the nonprofit conservation group Forest Ethics, is skeptical.
"The
is in our view the one credible forest-certification program out there," Hall told TNS.
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complete article here