Forest Stewardship Council Awards Best Building Projects of 2012

Winners demonstrate forest protection and jobs go hand-in-hand

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) announced winners of the 8^th Annual Design & Build with FSC Awards last night at a special reception connected to Greenbuild 2012, demonstrating that what's good for forests also benefits people and jobs.

The winners include a "Living Building" that is the first heavy timber commercial building in Seattle since the 1920s, a traditional West Indian cottage in the U.S. Virgin Islands and wood tables manufactured for Cisco Systems' telecommunications products. The winning projects were chosen based on extensive use of FSC-certified wood, impact on the marketplace, broader contributions to sustainability, and aesthetics.

"FSC was created to prove we don't need to trade environmental protection for economic development," said Corey Brinkema, President of FSC's U.S. office. "We all use forest products every day, so we chose projects that show the wide range of options and benefits from using wood from responsibly managed forests," he added.

The award winners include the following:

• Commercial / Institutional Winner - The Bullitt Center, Seattle, WA
• Commercial / Institutional Honorable Mention – Hotel et Geos Spa Sacacomie, Saint-Alexis-des-Monts, Quebec
• Judges Choice Commercial / Institutional – Woodtech, Oakland, CA
• Residential Winner – Big Rock Cottage, St. John, USVI

"In 1999 we made our first commitment to buy and sell FSC wood," said Ron Jarvis, Vice President of Merchandising and Sustainability at The Home Depot, who added, "Today FSC has come of age and the winning projects show you can have it all; quality, good value and environmental protection. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we're pleased to offer FSC-certified lumber exclusively in all of our stores." The Home Depot is the Platinum sponsor of Design & Build with FSC at Greenbuild. Other sponsors include Andersen Corporation and Kimberly-Clark Corporation.

As the U.S. Green Building Council debates credits for wood in its LEED program, the award winners show the positive impact of high standards for forest protection. Over the past 10 years, the Certified Wood credit in LEED has helped conserve more than 100 million acres of forests in the U.S. and Canada through FSC certification.

"LEED may well be the single biggest driver of forest conservation in history," said Corey Brinkema. "It is critical to keep a strong preference for FSC in the next version of LEED."

For more information visit www.fsc.org.

Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council is an independent nonprofit organization that sets standards for responsible forest management. FSC's mission is to meet our current needs for forest products without compromising the health of the world's forests for future generations. For more information visit www.fsc.org.

SOURCE Forest Stewardship Council