WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Assn. (NLBMDA) applauds the decision by the General Services Administration (GSA) to formally recommend to the Department of Energy (DOE) that federal buildings use the Green Building Initiative's Green Globes 2010 or U.S. Green Building Council's LEED 2009 as the certification systems for construction and renovation. Currently, LEED is the only green building standard used for federal buildings.

GSA is required by law to issue a recommendation to DOE every five years on how the federal government can best use certification systems to measure the design and performance of the federal government's construction and major renovation projects. In announcing its decision, GSA acknowledged that no green building certification system meets all of the federal government's green building requirements, and is just one tool that GSA uses to cut costs and meet sustainability and economic performance goals.

Current federal green building policy only recognizes LEED 2009, which awards its wood credit only for wood products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Only approximately one quarter of certified forests in North America are FSC-certified. In contrast, Green Globes 2010 recognizes forest certifications such as Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and American Tree Farm System (ATFS), in addition to FSC.

"We are pleased with GSA's decision that will allow for greater use of North American wood in federal buildings," said NLBMDA Chair Chris Yenrick, President of Smith Phillips Building Supply in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. "NLBMDA remains committed to ensuring that federal green building standards follow consensus-based standards that recognize wood as a sustainable and environmentally preferable building material."

As part of the recommendations, agencies will be allowed to choose between the two certification systems that best meet their building portfolios. For new construction and major renovation, GSA recommends at least LEED Silver or 2 Green Globes. For agencies seeking green building certification for existing buildings, the minimum goal is LEED Certified or 1 Green Globe.

NLBMDA is part of the American High Performance Buildings Coalition (a group of over 40 organizations representing a broad range of green building materials, products, and technologies) that has worked to support and promote green building codes that are developed through consensus-based processes derived from data and performance-driven criteria.

The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) represents its members in the national public policy arena, with emphasis on efforts to 1) promote the industry and educate legislators and public policy personnel; and 2) assist legislative, regulatory, standard-setting and other government or private bodies in the development of laws, regulations and policies affecting lumber and building material dealers, its customers and suppliers. Founded in 1917, the association has over 6,000 members operating single or multiple lumber yards and component plants serving homebuilders, subcontractors, general contractors, and consumers in the new construction, repair and remodeling of residential and light commercial

Source: NLBMDA