New CEU Helps Building Professionals Earn LEED Credits for Use of FSC Products

MINNEAPOLIS, July 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To encourage architects and other building professionals to build with wood and support their efforts to earn credit in the US Green Building Council's LEED program, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) developed Mastering FSC-certified Wood in Green Building, which was released today.

Developed as a Continuing Education Unit, the course is approved by both the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) for professional development credit.

Currently, more than 2.8 billion square feet of building space is LEED certified (as of January 2014) and approximately 40 percent of projects earn credit for use of FSC certified products. While that makes FSC one of the most common credit pathways in LEED, it also indicates significant room for growth. Mastering FSC-certified wood in Green Building is one strategy to encourage responsible wood use in construction.

"By driving demand for FSC-certified products, LEED has contributed enormously to forest conservation in the US," said Corey Brinkema, president of the Forest Stewardship Council US. "We know sourcing can sometimes be challenging, so this CEU is one part of our work to help architects and builders," he added.

The CEU focuses on four learning objectives: 1) To explain the benefits of using FSC products in green building; 2) To describe components of credible forest certification; 3) To discuss new rules for use of FSC-certified products in LEED v4; and 4) To identify tools and strategies for finding FSC-certified products.

Columbia Forest Products, North America's largest manufacturer of hardwood plywood and veneer products, sponsored the CEU. Other sponsors include Collins, F.D. Sterritt Lumber Company, Windfall Lumber and Sustainable Northwest Wood.

The CEU is a web-based, self-study course with an online exam that is required to earn continuing education credit.

To review the CEU offline as a PDF or take the course, visit http://bit.ly/FSC_CEU.

About the Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes environmentally sound, socially beneficial, and economically prosperous management of the world's forests. FSC was created in 1993 to help consumers and businesses identify products from well-managed forests. FSC sets standards by which forests are certified, offering credible verification to people who are buying wood and wood products. 5,400 companies and 175 million acres of forestland are certified under FSC standards in the United States and Canada. For more information visit www.fsc.org.

SOURCE Forest Stewardship Council