Tommy Maxwell Speaks Out Against LEED's FSC-Only Wood Policy

The U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) policy of awarding points only for FSC-certified wood products under its LEED building program is causing specifiers to look to other countries for wood and threatening jobs in America, according to an opinion column for Arkansas' Monticello News written by local wood flooring maker Tommy Maxwell, owner of Maxwell Hardwood Flooring.

Maxwell, a member of the NWFA's board of directors, deems all sustainable forest certifications "vital" to the forest industry, including FSC, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and American Tree Farm System (ATFS). "I think we can all agree on the importance of supporting responsible forest management practices," he writes, "and that third party certification programs help builders and others know that they are supporting businesses that value sustainability."

Maxwell illustrates his view that LEED should accept other certification frameworks by describing how five-sixths of certified, sustainable forests in his own state were excluded when contractors sought bids for wood flooring in the George W. Bush Presidential Library as well as the Clinton Presidential Center; bamboo flooring manufactured in China was specified for the latter. "Bias of this type could dramatically impact Arkansas' forestry industry and businesses like mine," Maxwell writes.

Maxwell is not happy that the USGBC is playing favorites in the wood products marketplace with its grip on which wood certification programs are eligible under LEED. "We should not allow one certification program to become a monopoly in this country or the favorite choice of governments or 'green' crediting bodies when there are many other organizations of equal stature and credibility," he writes.