The sub does not need FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. CoC certification to use certified doors on the project -- the door trader's CoC suffices.

The only project subs who need FSC CoC certification for MRc7 are those who modify wood products off the job site -- e.g. architectural woodworkers.

Jason,
thanks for advising.

If the casework manufacturer is FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. CoC certified, which they should be, then they are probably operating under the FSC percentage system. If so, they would derive -- and report on their invoice -- the FSC percentage of the total casework package by dividing the weight (or volume) of FSC input materials by the total weight (or volume) of the wood used in the package, backing out the non-wood components (in your case, the hardware and the bamboo panels).

If the casework manufacturer needs more assistance in figuring this out, they can contact me directly: jason@jasongrantconsulting.com

Hi Jason,
The casework fabricator in Guam is not a FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. certified. They just bought the FSC COC certified woodWood from a source that has been determined, through a certification process, to meet stated ecological and other criteria. There are numerous forest certification programs in general use based on several standards, but only the Forest Stewardship Council's standards, which include requirements that the wood be tracked through its chain-of-custody, can be used to qualify wood for a point in the LEED Rating System. components in a hardware store. What will be the implication to the LEED requirement for MR Certified wood.
Please advise

Unfortunately, if the casework fabricator doesn't have CoC, then the FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts.-certified woodWood from a source that has been determined, through a certification process, to meet stated ecological and other criteria. There are numerous forest certification programs in general use based on several standards, but only the Forest Stewardship Council's standards, which include requirements that the wood be tracked through its chain-of-custody, can be used to qualify wood for a point in the LEED Rating System. they used doesn't count.

As Doug points out below:

The February 2, 2011 Addenda to (LEED 2009 First Edition BD+C) makes the following clarification:

http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/Archive/General/Docs6392.pdf:

"Entities that install an FSC-certified product on the project building/site (typically project contractors or subcontractors, but also furniture installers and the like), do not require CoC certification as long as they do not modify the product’s packaging or form except as is required for installation. Contractors and sub-contractors that temporarily possess FSC-certified material prior to installation should be careful not mix or contaminate the FSC-certified material with non- FSC-certified material."

I'm not totally clear as to what you mean by "FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. claim products" vs. "FSC Raw materials," but hopefully this will help:

The relevant submittals are "vendor" invoices for FSC-certified products, with "vendor" defined as companies that sell wood products into the project. As a woodworker, this means your invoice for your FSC-certified woodwork/millwork package is the submittal -- and you do not need to also submit the invoices from your suppliers for the materials you use.

To take another example, if a flooring distributor supplies FSC-certified wood flooring for the job, then their invoice will be used for the submittal -- and for LEED purposes, the invoices of the multiple parties that are likely "upstream" from the distributor in the value chain all the way back to the forest (flooring manufacturer, lumber distributor, sawmill, logger...) are irrelevant.

I will send you a copy of the April 2008 memo if you email me at jason@jasongrantconsulting.com

Hi EH,
Yes, it is my understanding that if the sub is actually cutting and finishing the wood, whether that is onsite or not, they are not just an installer and must be FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. certified. We are losing this credit now on our CI projects because 99% of our local millwork/casework subs even in the Pacific Northwest are not certified and can't afford the costs of separating their manufacturing lines. You should have a shot with an NC project which likely has other wood components that may comply.

Woodworkers who fabricate custom millwork/casework/etc. off-site need FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. CoC. Subcontractors such as flooring installers who do not modify materials off-site do not need FSC CoC.

There is nothing in FSC CoC that would require a millworker to "separate their manufacturing lines." There are costs and administrative burdens, for sure, however, and as Michelle states, many woodworkers have opted to not obtain FSC CoC and thus are not able to contribute to MRc7 -- although as many as 15% nationwide have, according to the Architectural Woodwork Institute. If you want the wood in interior woodwork to count toward MRc7, then project teams should verify in advance that woodworkers bidding the job have FSC CoC.

Michelle is correct.

We only had one, now two, FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. millwork shops in the area. It was a pain because it severely limited the bidders on jobs. But we had to use them if we had any hope of getting that credit on a lot of projects since the millwork packages were large. We've reached over 50% on some projects when it was large enough with other wood components to make up for it, or on CI projects with a lot of wood furniture that was FSC.

We have a few projects which were registered, and some bid, before July 2011, when the interpretation of this credit changed. Is there any protocol for "grandfathering" this credit? IE, if the project was bid prior to July 2011, and as there was no precedent for requiring a cabinet shop to be FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. certified up to that point, that requirement wasn't not included in the specifications, is it possible to get the credit? Assuming, of course, that it was properly documented by prior standards?
What about if the budget and scope was established by the public agency client prior to July 2011, but the CDs were not yet completed?

I don't know the answer to this question -- maybe Doug or Tristan can help

Hi Susan - in regards to grandfathered Issues: Everything is relative to the date the project was LEED 'Registered'. I.E. Whatever LEED criteria were in place at that date of registration prevail (including addenda, etc.). You will need to determine specifically when the project was registered down to the date.

Public agency scope and budget are not really relevant to this credit (not to be confused with the actual project costs). In this case the date of CD's has no impact because the certification criteria are tied to the date of registration.

As far as no requirement for cabinet shops to be FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. certified in the past...I have always required cabinets shops to be FSC certified on the LEED projects I administer - otherwise the cabinets (which are assemblies) cannot really be considered FSC certified because the cabinet shop opens the packaging and significantly modifies the FSC materials to fabricate the cabinets (I.E. plywood’s, MDFMedium-density fiberboard (MDF): Panel product used in cabinets and furniture; generally made from wood fiber glued together with binder; similar to particleboard, but with finer texture, offering more precise finishing. Most MDF is made with formaldehyde-emitting urea-formaldehyde binder., hardwoods, etc., etc.). Without FSC certification, the cabinet shop breaks the FSC chain of custody and cannot claim the cabinets to be FSC certified. You can search for past LEEDUser posts on this topic that go into more detail.

In regards to FSC certification for installers, the February 2, 2011 Addenda to (LEED 2009 First Edition BD+C) makes the following clarification (below).
February 2, 2011 Addenda to (LEED 2009 First Edition BD+C) http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/Archive/General/Docs6392.pdf:

"Entities that install an FSC-certified product on the project building/site (typically project contractors or subcontractors, but also furniture installers and the like), do not require CoC certification as long as they do not modify the product’s packaging or form except as is required for installation. Contractors and sub-contractors that temporarily possess FSC-certified material prior to installation should be careful not mix or contaminate the FSC-certified material with non- FSC-certified material."

Best Regards,
Doug

Thanks!

As long as you have some new wood on the project, I haven't ever heard of a mininum threshold.

Hi Keith,
My understanding from the US side is that you don't. You have to choose which credit you are pursuing with that product. You can't do both. Though there is a designation called Mixed FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts., by USGBC policy, we consider that 100% FSC and 100% new wood. If your project has a Mixed FSC (%) claim, you would use the percentage provided in both columns.

Since you have the choice, it may come down to which benefits your project more.

I am in the position in my area of advising contractor's not to pay the premium for FSC MDFMedium-density fiberboard (MDF): Panel product used in cabinets and furniture; generally made from wood fiber glued together with binder; similar to particleboard, but with finer texture, offering more precise finishing. Most MDF is made with formaldehyde-emitting urea-formaldehyde binder. products which are often largely recycled content when they are better off claiming them for MR4 and not dealing with the level of paperwork needed for MR7, particularly on CI projects with respect to casework and millwork where our subcontractors are largely not FSC certified.

How do you record the wood value in MRc7, if you include it in MRc4?

Why would encouraging sustainable forestry and recycled content be considered double dipping?

Hi Keith,
You don't. In your example, you don't have any "new wood". It sounds like your product is FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. Recycled which is outright excluded from MR7.

Why this is considered double dipping has caused lengthy debate, and you can probably find lots of discussion about it by reading through these pages. It's not something that entirely makes sense to me.

Thanks!
In the LEED NC 2009 Canada, MRc7 credit, it is stated under Interpretations, that "Pre-consumer recycled content cannot be excluded from the MR Credit 7 Certified WoodWood from a source that has been determined, through a certification process, to meet stated ecological and other criteria. There are numerous forest certification programs in general use based on several standards, but only the Forest Stewardship Council's standards, which include requirements that the wood be tracked through its chain-of-custody, can be used to qualify wood for a point in the LEED Rating System. credit calculations. Exclusion of post-consumerWaste generated by end users (households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities) of a product no longer able to be used for its intended purpose that is recycled into raw material for a new product. wood is permitted to ensure that applicants are not penalised for the use of salvaged wood. Pre-consumer wood is seen as a co-product as it can play a key economic determinant role in the decision to
mill lumber."
So, it sounds like we have to include the pre-consumer recycled content in MRc7.

Hi Keith,
I would rely on the FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. designation. If that product was FSC Mixed, you would include the whole amount as "new wood" and as "FSC wood". If the product was designated FSC Mixed (%), you would use the % value for both new wood and FSC wood.

If it's not an FSC product, it's really tricky. The only way right now, using the Materials spreadsheet provided by the USGBC for these credits, to add new wood value is to include a line item product. If you include this product as a line item in MR7 and MR4, the reviewers will likely bounce it.

Practically, I would not include it in MR7 despite the new wood value. Others may not agree. I suppose if you were determined you could add the line item to include the new wood value but it would be 0% FSC and then explain why it's in both places. If you actually had 40% FSC that you could claim, you'd have an FSC Mixed (%) designation.

I agree with everything that Michelle writes above. For more perspective on this, see the string below under the heading "FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. assembly requirement for LEED"

One argument against allowing double-dipping for MRc4 and MRc7 is the direction of LEEDv4 itself -- since going forward, it looks like FSC-certified and recycled-content materials are going to be in the same credit, each counting toward a the same threshold. Admittedly, this is a practical rather than a scientific argument for keeping them in separate buckets, but it really does seem to be too confusing to do it any other way.

When you go into the credit information page, there is a tab of links to the right of the "In Progress" and "Complete" buttons. There is a hot link called credit resources. If you click on that, it will take you to the page where you can download the MR credit resource calculator. You have to go to the credit information page for a credit like MRc4, 5, or 7 to see it.

Valeria,
Thanks for your reply, but I know where the resource section is in LEED Online. It is just that there is no such calculator to be found there.

I realized after I posted that you were familiar with where it would be... sorry about that! But I just checked into my projects and I see it in them where it should be. That is strange that it isn't there for you. Are you the PM on the project or just assigned that credit?

If you would like to PM me your email address, I can send you a blank copy of the excel doc.

Valerie,
Thank you, that would be nice.
my email is epauwels@greenlivingprojects.com

Valerie,
I am the Project administrator on several projects I am doing but the spreadsheet can not be found in any of them. So yes, it is sort of strange...

The calculator is not available to our project under the 'credit resources' section either...

From an FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. CoC standpoint, both the receipt of sale and the receipt of shipping should have an FSC CoC code (as well as an FSC claim for the certified product -- e.g. "FSC Mix Credit, FSC 100%"). From a LEED standpoint, however, I believe that the only one that really matters is the receipt of sale.

I would concur with Jason. We typically only provide the receipt of sale, and have never had a problem with the review when provided.

If by plastic composites you mean a laminate like melamine, then from an FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. CoC standpoint, you can't exclude it from consideration because it contains kraft paper. Many major manufacturers of high-pressure laminates now have FSC-certified offerings, so it should be possible to source FSC-certified laminate panels that combine these materials with FSC-certified substrates like particleboard or MDFMedium-density fiberboard (MDF): Panel product used in cabinets and furniture; generally made from wood fiber glued together with binder; similar to particleboard, but with finer texture, offering more precise finishing. Most MDF is made with formaldehyde-emitting urea-formaldehyde binder..

Hi Jason,

Thank you for your inputs! By wood and plastic composites I mean outdoor deck floor products (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood-plastic_composite , http://www.eva-last.co.za/eco-decking.html), not laminates.

Do you have experience with this kind of product?

I'm generally familiar with this product.

I believe the correct approach would be to treat the decking as an "assembly" per the LEED Reference Guide, and to calculate the amount of "new wood" as a percentage of the total weight (or volume), and then to multiply this by the total value as invoiced to the project contractor.

So if the composite decking is 30% wood by weight (or volume) and the rest is plastic resin, and the total invoice is $100,000, and the decking is not FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. certified, then you would add $30K to the total amount of new wood used and hope that at least 50% of that total is FSC.

Or if, as seems likely, you can show that the wood used in the composite decking is not "new wood" but rather is pre-consumer recycled content (i.e. manufacturing by-products), then you should be able to exclude it from MRc7 calculations altogether and instead factor it into MRc4 calculations if that is a credit you are pursuing.

Hi Grant,

I can only speak from my project experiences, so I will attempt to answer your question to the best of my ability. On our projects, we will request that the subs/vendors provide cost information during the submittal process. We do recognize, however, that millworkers and many others will not be ordering materials until later on, particularly in projects with 12+ month construction schedules. In this case, we simply ask that the subs/vendors indicate that the amount provided during the submittal phase is an estimate. This allows us to flag the amount on our spreadsheet so that we know to come back to that company for more accurate cost data at a later date.

The purpose of asking for the price data up front is so that we can run the numbers and make sure that we are within the ballpark of our targets for recycled content, regional content, FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts., etc. If we aren't within the ballpark, then we know we may need to make material changes, or possibly pick up points elsewhere.

However, with all that said, the team is still required to supply an invoice for all FSC certified product on the project. You obviously can't supply the invoice until the order has been made.

From being a millworker, yes this is a pain but one that you cannot get away from. What I find works in the beginning are lump sums. Some help from your estimating software if you use any and some feed back from your purchasing department are helpful.

Regional is tough early on. Recycle is usually a high number based on cabinet construction vs hardwoods.

Your certified woods will dictate by the job. When calculating the certified woods on a job as much feed back you can get from the GC helps early on. This will help you decide whether or not you go after FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. Mixed products for your sheets goods or pursue the recycled portion for the sheet goods. Find out who else if anyone is providing woodwork for the job...including the framer.

Hi John,
My understanding is that only virgin wood fiber may be claimed as FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. certified. A product could theoretically be composed of both virgin and recycled wood fibers, for example 50% virgin fiber that comes from FSC sources and the remaining 50% of wood fiber could come from recycled sources. But understand that FSC uses several types of classifications; FSC 100%, FSC Mix Credit, and FSC Mix Percentage (NN%). Using my example above if your invoice shows either FSC 100% or Mix Credit a $20 panel would count as $20 toward MRc7. Whereas a panel with virgin and recycled fiber would value $10 toward MRc7 and $10 toward MRc4.
FSC also uses a certification know as FSC Recycled I'm not very familiar with it but I know it will not count toward MRc7.

Joe thank you and I agree with everything you had mentioned. I guess where I was reading that: FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. Mixed Credit: Valued at 100% of product cost (I cut and pasted from above) and what I am noticing that some of my vendors are not showing the mixed percent.

I just do not want to be wrong to put 100% of my RAW MDFMedium-density fiberboard (MDF): Panel product used in cabinets and furniture; generally made from wood fiber glued together with binder; similar to particleboard, but with finer texture, offering more precise finishing. Most MDF is made with formaldehyde-emitting urea-formaldehyde binder. or RAW Particle Board material MRc4, since it is NOT new wood.

Where as a FSC walnut veneer MDF panel would have 6% (NEW WOOD veneer) towards MRc7 & 94% (RECYCLED MDF Core) towards MRc4, based on weight.

Am I still on right path?

Exactly! As long as the invoices back up those claims you should be good.

John and Joe:

I work with pb and mdfMedium-density fiberboard (MDF): Panel product used in cabinets and furniture; generally made from wood fiber glued together with binder; similar to particleboard, but with finer texture, offering more precise finishing. Most MDF is made with formaldehyde-emitting urea-formaldehyde binder. veneer core products for LEED jobs on a regular basis.
John- you are right, MDF and PB are FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. Mixed credit and should be valued at 100% of the product cost.

Most pb and mdf mills use FSC virgin wood for FSC orders.
It is NOT FSC RECYCLED, It is virgin FSC wood that contributes to MR7.

So you can purchase an FSC PB or MDF core and put an FSC veneer on it and both can contribute to the MR7 credit.

Hope this helps!

Carly - What specification division have you been placing the markerboards in? They are commonly a Furnishing, Fit-up and Equipment (FFE) item that is not included in the LEED NC materials boundary (which includes the conventional specification sections 2-10 + some division 12 items like pre-fabricated casework that can also show up in division 6 if it is custom fabricated).

You might consider simply not including them in your calculations as they are a furniture item - this would be different for LEED CI which reports on furniture. Off course if you delete the markerboards, it will change the percentage of other materials credits that rely on the total materials value of the project for their calculations (unless you are using the default material value).

I don't have any special methods for getting 'split' invoices from a manufacturer to offer. However, if you can not get one split, maybe you can get an invoice for the entire markerboard, in which case another approach (besides deleting the markerboard from the calculation since it's furniture and outside the NC material reporting boundary) might be to include the entire markerboard value as 'new wood' (assuming it doesn't throw you below the 50% baseline for earning the credit). Since the negative impact counts against earning the credit, and not towards earning it, the reviewer might find the approach acceptable(?).

Just a thought...

Thanks for the quick feedback Doug. According to the CSI Masterformat (and the project specs), these are in Division 10 Specialties, 101100, so they would technically be included. I agree that they seem more like a FFE item, but I'm not sure about excluding them since they are technically Div 10.

I'm not holding my breath for a 'split' invoice from the manufacturer, but I think your suggestion to use the invoice of the whole tackboard assembly should work since, as you mentioned, it counts against earning the credit and waters down the actual FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. certified total. Fingers crossed!

Personally, I am not aware of any signficant changes to the LEED Certified WoodWood from a source that has been determined, through a certification process, to meet stated ecological and other criteria. There are numerous forest certification programs in general use based on several standards, but only the Forest Stewardship Council's standards, which include requirements that the wood be tracked through its chain-of-custody, can be used to qualify wood for a point in the LEED Rating System. Documentation requirements OR FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. COC requirements as they apply to the majority of projects. To avoid confusion or interpretation errors, I am going to post quotes (+ links) on this topic without comment that are directly from both FSC (Date: Mid 2010) and the Green Building Certification Institute (Date: Late 2011):

----------------------------------------------------------

POST ON THE FSC United States WEBSITE:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LEED "CERTIFIED WOOD CREDIT" posted around July 19th, 2010 and located here: http://us.fsc.org/frequently-asked-questions.296.htm

"As of July 19th, 2010, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) published several addenda relating to the MRc7 credit for FSC certified wood which can be found here. The addenda clarify two important issues relating to who needs to be FSC certified and partial claims:

Organizations that install an FSC-certified product or products on the project building/site (typically project contractors or subcontractors such as flooring installers or framing contractors, but also furniture installers and the like) do not require FSC CoC certification as long as they do not modify the product’s packaging or form except as is required for installation. All other organizations will need to be FSC CoC certified in order for the certified wood products they fabricate and install to count toward MRc7. This includes organizations like cabinetmakers and architectural millworkers that manufacture products off-site and then install them on-site (even if considered a subcontractor)

No partial claims can be made for products that contain FSC certified wood but are not sold with an FSC claim. This means that a company cannot mix FSC-certified components with non-certified components that are not eligible inputs into FSC Mixed products in an assembly and get credit for the certified portion. The product can only count towards the MRc7 point if the product complies with FSC Chain-of-CustodyChain-of-custody (COC) is he path taken by raw materials, processed materials, and products from the forest to the consumer, including all successive stages of processing, transformation, manufacturing and distribution. A chain-of-custody certificate number on invoices for nonlabeled products indicates that the certifier’s guidelines for product accounting have been followed. A chain-of-custody certification is not required by distributors of a product that is individually labeled with the Forest Stewardship Council logo and manufacturer’s chain-of-custody number. Chain of Custody (CoC) certification requirements are determined by Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody Standard 40-004 v2-1. rules for Mixed products and the invoice carries a valid FSC claim and chain of custody number

Both clarifications further align the USGBC LEED documentation requirements with the FSC CoC standard"

For more informatin link to: http://us.fsc.org/frequently-asked-questions.296.htm

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Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) PDF Download:

LEED PROJECT SUBMITTAL TIPS: NEW CONSTRUCTION 2009 Published on 12/23/ 2011 and located here: http://www.gbci.org/Libraries/Certification_Resources/LEED_Project_Submi...

QUOTE:
"Remember that valid FSC chain of custody numbers for each FSC certified wood product must be provided.

Be sure that the products on the vendor invoices for all new wood products are separated on a line item basis. Invoices need to include the dollar value of each product as well as vendor's COC certificate numbers for all FSC certified wood.

Be sure that the table includes the product name, vendor, product cost, wood component percentage, and FSC certified wood percentage of product shown on vendor invoice.

If furniture is included in the materials calculations be sure that it is included consistently across MR Credits 3-7.

Remember to upload cut sheets for 100% of the materials"

--------------------------------------------------------------

Hope this helps to provide a little clarity,
Doug

Yes it does, thanks Doug.

Since flooring and framing subs are not considered to need certification, does a millwork/casework sub only need certification if they are fabricating something off-site? If they are only on-site installers, does that make them analagous to a framing sub or furniture installer?

Hi Michelle - It has been my long time practice to interpret the situation you describe above, for LEED Certifications, in the following way: A millwork/ casework subcontractor that is installing FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. Certified assemblies, provided by a different FSC Certified Vendor and / or Fabricator, would Not need to be FSC Certified if they are Not making modifications to the product beyond that needed for installation. I.E. They are playing a roll in the FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) that is very similar to a "furniture installer and the like" as noted in FSC's LEED FAQ quoted further above and located at: http://us.fsc.org/frequently-asked-questions.296.htm

Best,
Doug

So Doug, now that I've talked to a few local casework subs and contractors, I'm hearing that this certification requirement will be very onerous for small businesses who will have to segregate their production facilities. And having looked at half a dozen CI projects in-house, they won't be able to comply with MR7 without being able to use the value of casework. NCand CS projects may be able to use the other typical wood components and still make the threshold without including their casework.

Being a small business owner myself, I'm particularly sensitive to this kind of barrier. I'm feeling an unfortunate sense of confluence with the MR4 LEED InterpretationLEED Interpretations are official answers to technical inquiries about implementing LEED on a project. They help people understand how their projects can meet LEED requirements and provide clarity on existing options. LEED Interpretations are to be used by any project certifying under an applicable rating system. All project teams are required to adhere to all LEED Interpretations posted before their registration date. This also applies to other addenda. Adherence to rulings posted after a project registers is optional, but strongly encouraged. LEED Interpretations are published in a searchable database at usgbc.org. discussion where some are concerned large scale manufacturers are favored over smaller suppliers. Other than simply not pursuing MR7 on CI projects, any suggestions for how to approach this?

Michelle - My wife has had her own small business for over 10 years and I know that it can be very challenging.

I must say that the certification requirements above are not really new. The LEED Certified WoodWood from a source that has been determined, through a certification process, to meet stated ecological and other criteria. There are numerous forest certification programs in general use based on several standards, but only the Forest Stewardship Council's standards, which include requirements that the wood be tracked through its chain-of-custody, can be used to qualify wood for a point in the LEED Rating System. credit has functioned roughly this way for many years, so it shouldn't really be an a new burden from that perspective.

I must ask, have your fabricators looked closely at the requirements for FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. Certification of their operations? I would not assume anything about what the requirements are as FSC has now made provisions for small business through Group Certifications. Here's a link:

http://us.fsc.org/coc-group-certification.286.htm

Of course Coc certification will not be complelely hassle free - but without some accountability (which is what causes the hassles), the certification would not be of any value. There is a signficant difference between FSC forestry / Coc requirements and other forest certifications or status quo forestry...I.E. being FSC Coc certified means more than a piece of paper - it has real environmental and social value.

If you are wondering what the differences really are and why FSC is important, I published an article in Trim Tab (the Cascadia Green Building Council's quarterly publication) last summer titled "FSC+Better? What is the status of the Wood Certification Gap?" The article compares 5 key features of all the forest certifications operating in the U.S. and can be found here:

http://www.pageturnpro.com/Cascadia-Green-Building-Council/41769-Trim-Ta...

Best Regards,
Doug

April, I heard at Greenbuild that this definitin of CoC was causing a lot of head-scratching, and was going to be retracted. I haven't seen official conformation of that yet.

Hi Paul,

Sorry to be slow in responding to your post.

It is true that if a woodworker makes p-lam clad casework on FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. Mix MDFMedium-density fiberboard (MDF): Panel product used in cabinets and furniture; generally made from wood fiber glued together with binder; similar to particleboard, but with finer texture, offering more precise finishing. Most MDF is made with formaldehyde-emitting urea-formaldehyde binder. core with recycled content, then the casework does not HAVE to be manufactured as FSC certified. The recycled content materials can count toward MRc4, but not MRc7. This is straightforward enough.

Where it gets murky and absurdly complicated is if:

1) a project team is simultaneously pursuing MRc4 and MRc7, AND

2) the woodworker has FSC CoC and wants to/is able to make an FSC claim for the casework, AND

3) the woodworker is combining FSC-certified materials, recycled content materials, and FSC Mix materials that themselves are a combination of "new wood" and recycled content.

This combination of circumstances is a calculation and documentation nightmare that too many woodworkers and project teams have struggle with.

As is apparent elsewhere in this forum, there is a lot of confusion about FSC and recycled content. Many FSC Mix products have recycled content, and as you point out, FSC Mix products like MDF and particleboard may in fact be 100% recycled content (pre- and post-consumerWaste generated by end users (households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities) of a product no longer able to be used for its intended purpose that is recycled into raw material for a new product.) and still carry an FSC Mix rather than an FSC Recycled claim (FSC considers the sawmill by-products typically used in the production of these materials as "virgin fiber" rather than pre-consumer recycled content). To make matters worse, the nature of FSC's credit system is such that the actual proportions of recycled content vs. virgin fiber in any given product is impossible to calculate: the best a manufacturer can do is report historical averages.

All this argues for the clarification and simplification of the LEED requirements for FSC vs. recycled content wood products. My opinion is that the LEED requirement that only NEW wood count toward MRc7 should be revised. If a product with recycled content is invoiced as FSC Mix (credit or %) and the project team wishes to pursue the MRc7 point, then the appropriate dollar value should apply to MRc7 period and no further attempts should be made to parse recycled vs. virgin content. Where a product is FSC Mix and also has recycled content and the project team wishes to apply it to MRc4, then they can take the recycled content value and ignore the FSC claim. Project teams that are pursuing both MRc4 and MRc7 should have to choose which credit an FSC Mix w/ recycled content product will count toward; they should NOT be allowed to double-dip and have the same product apply to both credits as I believe they are currently able to do (not sure on this).

Of course, products that are invoiced as FSC Recycled (Mix or %) should only count toward MRc4, as is currently the case.

A revision along these lines is all the more important given that under LEED v4 FSC-certified woodWood from a source that has been determined, through a certification process, to meet stated ecological and other criteria. There are numerous forest certification programs in general use based on several standards, but only the Forest Stewardship Council's standards, which include requirements that the wood be tracked through its chain-of-custody, can be used to qualify wood for a point in the LEED Rating System. and recycled content are rewarded under the same credit. Confusion and double-counting will persist until and unless this is cleared up.

Hi Jason,
Though project teams have to choose now between MR4 and MR7 claims because double dipping is in fact precluded, I agree with most of your comments and the overall complexity of documenting this credit. And I agree with Paul's point, FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. MDFMedium-density fiberboard (MDF): Panel product used in cabinets and furniture; generally made from wood fiber glued together with binder; similar to particleboard, but with finer texture, offering more precise finishing. Most MDF is made with formaldehyde-emitting urea-formaldehyde binder. is only new wood by policy. So if you're not making that new wood claim with your product, there is no reason to pay the FSC premium and it seems the wood cost would be excluded from your MR7 calc.

We are finding the casework/millwork sub needs to have a CoC to be particularly onerous for small shops who can't afford separate manufacturing lines. If you have a CI project, you likely can't get MR7 without the casework being FSC. We fear this favors large businesses to the detriment of our projects.

I couldn't agree more that this credit's documentation requirements need to be re-evaluated. We are at the point of advising against pursuit of MR7 in the Pacific Northwest where there is ample supply but too much brain damage in trying to achieve the credit. It is always unfortunate when the LEED requirements for documentation actually dissuade someone from pursuing the activity.

I'm with you on all this, Michelle. My hope is that, in revisiting the FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts.-certified woodWood from a source that has been determined, through a certification process, to meet stated ecological and other criteria. There are numerous forest certification programs in general use based on several standards, but only the Forest Stewardship Council's standards, which include requirements that the wood be tracked through its chain-of-custody, can be used to qualify wood for a point in the LEED Rating System. requirements for the LEED v4 reference guide, USGBC will go back to making FSC CoC optional rather than a requirement for casework/millwork subs. If this is the case, and architectural woodworkers opt for FSC CoC and are able to produce FSC-certified casework/millwork packages per FSC requirements, then they would have the benefit of including the costs of their off-site labor in their invoice. If the do not opt for FSC CoC or if there are some components of the millwork package that do not meet FSC requirements for "eligible inputs," then they could use vendor invoices to document the cost/value of FSC materials.

Rameez, there is not a minimum quantity of wood required to earn this credit.

The certifier is generally designated as part of the COC number. For example, I have an invoice here for Collins Pine particleboard. The COC number is SCS-COC-000085. In this example, "SCS" identifies the certification body - Scientific Certification Systems.