Elizabeth Baldwin

Elizabeth Baldwin has over 20 years of international wood sourcing experience. Very widely traveled, her résumé's "Special Skills" section includes "the ability to eat anything from raw horse to deep-fried scorpion." She serves as Metropolitan Hardwood Flooring's (metrofloors.com) ECO (Environmental Compliance Officer) and deals daily with the "green alphabet soup" of today's industry: FSC, CARB, LEED, and much more. She blogs on all things green (and, as she says, " 'grey' and 'blue' and almost every color except 'black and white.' Nothing in this world is black and white, particularly not 'green issues.'")

Green Issues

Alphabet Soup, Part 23 of Many: SFI, ATFS, CSA (PEFC in North America)

Last week we talked about PEFC, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. I wanted to list out some familiar abbreviations. These are the

October 11, 2016

Green Issues

Alphabet Soup, Part 22 of Many: PEFC

I was asked recently if I could do a small glossary of some of the Green Certification programs out there. I decided to start with PEFC because it’s not just a single certification program. Rather, with 38 national programs under the PEFC umbrella, it is the world’s largest forest certification system. In fact, approximately two-thirds of all certified forests globally are certified to PEFC standards.

October 4, 2016

Green Issues

Reflecting on the Warmth of Wood (as I Battle a Cold)

This is just a short post because all the airplane air I’ve been breathing the last few weeks has left me with a cold. And that’s put me a good bit behind on my work load.

September 27, 2016

Green Issues

Be it 'High,' 'Medium' or 'Light/Low,' It’s All the Same DF!

There is no such thing as HDF.

September 20, 2016

Green Issues

IWF 2016 in Pictures

The IWF is not a big show for the flooring world. In fact, it was my first time there. I enjoyed my walk through the machinery hall, seeing not just the familiar woodworking machines, but all the new technology, including a number of robots that definitely seemed to have personalities of their own. (I think most of them enjoyed their work, but one or two looked like they might join the Terminators when the machines rise up against us!)

September 13, 2016

Green Issues

The EPA Formaldehyde Rule—Clarity Will Come

I know the NWFA’s been swamped with calls. Certainly I’ve received multiple emails and phone calls regarding the newly released prepublication of the EPA rule on composite wood products, and I’m telling everyone the same thing—it’s a lot better than the originally proposed rule and, on the whole, the industry should have no trouble complying with it. However, that’s not to say there aren’t some points that require clarification, and I would encourage everyone to hold off on making assumptions. Yes, there are going to be new labels and documentation requirements to learn, some expansion into new products, and, yes, some manufacturers are going to be folded into direct certification under the rule over time. But hold off on making plans—we have time.

September 6, 2016

Green Issues

Last Chance This Year to Attend the IWPA Compliance Training

September 21st is your last chance this year to attend one of IWPA’s Compliance Training classes. Classes have been incredibly popular—they turned people away at the door in NC and were forced to add a second class in Atlanta because of overwhelming demand. Last I heard, there were only a few seats left, and by the time this blog reaches your computer screen, they may well be gone.

August 30, 2016

Green Issues

See You in DC for Fly-In 2016?

This year, the Hardwood Federation Fall Fly-In is scheduled for September 20-22, 2016. And, logically enough, it’s going to be in Washington, D.C., because that’s the best place to meet with a whole bunch of members of Congress all at once.

August 23, 2016

Green Issues

See You in Atlanta at IWF?

I’ll be in Atlanta at the IWF (International Woodworking Fair) next week—if you’re going to be around, come by to say hello. This is not one of my regular shows, but I’m going to be there as a co-instructor for the IWPA due diligence course. I blogged about these before and this is going to be class number five of six this year.

August 16, 2016

Green Issues

A Last Bit on Statistics, Science, Media and Language

So there’s been a lot of ranting in the last half dozen posts or so about manipulated or meaningless statistics and about bad or abused science and lazy or sensationalist media. I’ll surely return to these topics soon enough, but for now I’ll wrap it up with a few last random thoughts.

August 10, 2016

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Elizabeth Baldwin

Alphabet Soup, Part 23 of Many: SFI, ATFS, CSA (PEFC in North America)

Alphabet Soup, Part 22 of Many: PEFC

Reflecting on the Warmth of Wood (as I Battle a Cold)

Be it 'High,' 'Medium' or 'Light/Low,' It’s All the Same DF!

IWF 2016 in Pictures

The EPA Formaldehyde Rule—Clarity Will Come

Last Chance This Year to Attend the IWPA Compliance Training

See You in DC for Fly-In 2016?

See You in Atlanta at IWF?

A Last Bit on Statistics, Science, Media and Language

Meet the Winners of the 2024 Ultimate Wood Floor Guy & Gal Contest

Domestic Species for Wood Flooring 101: What Pros Should Know

Herringbone Reinvented: Panelizing for Stress-Free Floors

Enter the 2025 Wood Floor Business Design Awards

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