Green labeling taking root.

Green certification of wood products is a concept that is slowly gathering steam

It's not easy being "green." But in today's environmentally-minded market, selling wood products beating the green label of ecological approval may soon be an important competitive factor.

A green certification label signifies that the company has undertaken steps to ensure that timber processed from its mills, or used in its products, has been harvested from a sustainable forest. In addition, the industry must have a positive impact on the local community.

There are two basic reasons for a company to obtain certification, said Eric Bloomquist, president of Colonial Craft: if it becomes mandated by government or if it is market-driven. "We have pretty much, as a company, hitched our wagon to the market-driven approach. As soon as it becomes important to you, and you can pick between lumber that has a green stamp and lumber that doesn't, then there's going to be some movement in the industry," Bloomquist added. The St. Paul, Minn.-based manufacturer of grilles, moulding and millwork is striving to become the first U.S. company in its field to obtain "green" certification.

Although there are not many green certified products currently marketed, consumer interest is out there, said Dawn Winterhalter, a graduate assistant at Purdue University. A recent university study coordinated by Winterhalter found that, when it comes to wood furniture purchases, roughly "93 percent of those consumers surveyed said they'd like to know that their furniture originated from a sustainably managed forest." Also, 68 percent said "they would be willing to pay more for furniture whose construction materials originated from a sustainably managed North American forest," Winterhalter said.

And as consumer awareness of green labeling grows, other woodworking companies will most likely be turning to green labeling as a marketing tool. "Consumers are just now becoming aware of the green label and using it to make informed choices," said Mike Eisen, manager of Environmental Marketing for The Home Depot, the nation's largest home improvement chain. "We started offering certified products as a way to reassure customers that we are buying from credible sources, before they start knocking the door down requesting it."

The Home Depot is the first mass merchant to promote green lumber products. Collins Pine Lumber products and Portico "Royal Mahogany" front entry doors from Costa Rica were certified under the Scientific Certification Systems label and are the first green timber products offered by Home Depot. "We believe credible, scientifically substantiated claims are desirable. They help customers make more informed choices," Eisen said.

And what do marketers want from certification? According to Eisen, they want a fail-safe system that will allow them to:

1. Exceed customer expectations.

2. Create a value-added packaged good.

3. Derive a complementary green image.

"We want a system that complements our other efforts. We now sell green products or have taken action in every merchandise category. Timber and wood products can and should claim their green territory like other products have," Eisen said. In the near future, Eisen said he expects all of Home Depot's products to come from certified sources.

The certification process

Certification involves both site assessments as well as written documentation of good forest management and business practices. The four most widely known groups in the United States to offer certification are Smart Wood, Scientific Certification Systems, Institute for Sustainable Forestry and Rogue Institute for Ecology and Economy.

Although the actual certification procedure between the groups differs with regards to the composition of the assessment teams and evaluation procedures, the four are similar in that they all take into account the forest management practices, i.e., sustained yield, social impact on the local community, and ecosystem impact. They also differentiate the certification procedure for a timber source vs. secondary wood manufacturer.

A source is a producer of lumber. In certifying a source, for example, a three-person team, consisting of a forester, ecologist and social scientist, will conduct a site assessment, said Kate Heaton, associate director of the Timber Project for Smart Wood. A company is evaluated on: forest management plans including sustained yield management, environmental impacts, community and employee relations, and optimizing forest potential. The report is sent to a peer review for evaluation.

Manufacturers of secondary wood products cannot get certified unless it is proven that their source is certifiable, said Heaton. A single person conducts the site assessment of the woodworking facility, evaluating the company on management practices. The company must be able to prove that their vendors practice good forest management.

Fees for certification can vary. They depend upon: the company's size; location; how it manages its business, i.e., bookkeeping skills and overall regulation compliance; and its place in the distribution chain.

Plant location can have a big effect on the fee since most of the major certification agencies only have a centralized office. Very few, like Smart Wood, have local or even regional offices.

A number of other problems can result from having centralized offices, said Richard Miller of The Forest Partnership Inc., a non-profit organization which can act as an agent for clients looking for green certified companies. These problems include infrequent on-site inspections. Although most of the agencies try to conduct yearly inspections, Miller says this should be increased dramatically, to twice monthly. This could be done if local or regional offices were set up.

"Having worked as a logger for many years, I know for a fact that a significant number of loggers do not adequately adhere to the cutting requirements of a forest management plan. These problems can only be caught by frequent inspections, partly to correct and catch the problem as soon as possible, and partly to develop a better working relationship with the logger."

Who certifies the certifiers?

One problem associated with green labeling is the lack of standardization between the different certification groups, said Jamison Earvin of the Forest Stewardship Council. The Forest Stewardship Council was set up last year as a worldwide, non-profit, non-governmental agency to act as an accrediter and monitor certifiers of forest products.

The FSC's Principles and Criteria for Natural Forest Management define forest stewardship as environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management. According to Earvin, certifiers will be evaluated on adherence to FSC principles and guidelines. Principles include: compliance to FSC guidelines with respect for applicable laws of the country; tenure and use rights; recognition of indigenous peoples' rights to own, use or manage their land; environmental impact; establishment of a management plan; regular monitoring and assessment; and maintenance of a complementary relationship between natural forests and plantations -- that is, natural forests should not be replaced by tree plantations.

FSC guidelines for certifiers include: an independence from government or timber industry influence; maintenance of sound evaluation procedures; having all information open to the public; documentation of verifiable chain of custody; and, controlling the use of licenses, certificates, logos, and certification marks bearing their name.

Too many labels?

One problem which will need to be addressed is a general consumer distrust over the vast amount of labels and environmental product claims in the marketplace, said Earvin.

So should companies market their products under the certifiers' label or develop one of their own?

"I believe it is a mistake to market forest products under the label of a certifier," said Miller. "Certainly, a company's marketing scheme will mention the certification organization....(But) it is dangerous to rely on a certification organization to promote your product. It is dangerous to stake the health of your business on the continued good reputation of a certification organization. What if that organization makes a bad business decision? You could go down with them," Miller said.

Miller strongly suggested companies develop their own green labels, do their own promotion, and rely on the certifier just for the certification process.

Forest Stewardship Council [phone]

A non-profit, non-governmental membership organization, the FSC was formed to become an international accreditation body which would evaluate, accredit and monitor certifiers of forest products. The FSC's Principles and Criteria for Natural Forest Management define forest stewardship as environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management. Certifiers are evaluated on adherence to FSC principles and guidelines.

Smart Wood New York, NY [phone]

Smart Wood is a non-profit organization established in 1990 through the Rainforest Alliance as an alternative solution to boycotting tropical species. Smart Wood's program can be applied to tropical, temperate and boreal forests. Its certification program is based on three broad concepts:

1. Biodiversity: All operations must maintain environmental functions, including watershed stability and conservation of biological resources.

2. Sustained yield: Planning and implementation must incorporate sustained yield production for all forest products based on an understanding of, and documentation related to, local forest ecology.

3. Social impact: All activities should have a positive impact on the well being of local communities.

Scientific Certification Systems Oakland, CA [phone]

The Forest Conservation Program developed by Scientific Certification Systems was established to help bring order to the debate over management, harvesting and conservation of the earth's forests. The agency says it has applied for non-profit status. Its program can be applied to tropical, temperate and boreal forests. Following an evaluation of the management of the specific forest lands, the data is divided into three program elements: sustainable harvest, ecosystem heath and community benefits.

Each program element is rated on a 100-point scale. Forests rated above 60 are designated "well managed." Those among the top 10 percent of all SCS's certified forests, are designated "state-of-the-art well managed." Wood products derived from these forests can also carry these labels. The product label can stand alone or be used with the Environmental Report Card, which is based on a separate Life Cycle Inventory assessment. The report card looks at resource use, energy use and quantities of air and water pollutants and solid wastes produced over the life cycle of the products.

Institute for Sustainable Forestry Redway, CA [phone]

The Institute is a non-profit organization. Products certified under the program receive the Pacific Certified Ecological Forest Products label. Numerical rules for certification are: 1) no negative scores for any of the critical criteria; 2) no negative aggregate scores for any of the 10 subject areas; 3) a non-negative grand total aggregate score for 40 criteria.

Elements of sustainability include that the forest practices will protect, maintain and/or restore: the aesthetics, vitality, structure and functioning of the natural processes; surface and groundwater quality and quantity; natural processes of soil fertility, productivity and stability; and the natural balance and diversity of native species of the area. Forest practices should not include the use of artificial chemical fertilizers or synthetic chemical pesticides and should address community needs. Sites of archaeological, cultural and historic significance will also be protected and will receive special consideration.

Rogue Institute for Ecology & Economy Ashland, OR [phone]

The institute was formed in April 1990 by representatives of a local millworkers union and three environmental groups in the Rogue Valley as a response to the growing polarization between timber workers and environmentalists. Its purpose is to identify and promote forest management alternatives which are both ecologically sustainable and provide viable economic alternatives for those living in resource based communities.

The Community Forestry Certification Project was initiated in the spring of 1991. Certification projects are underway for public and private forestlands in southwestern Oregon.

COLONIAL CRAFT SEEKS TO BE A LEADER

St. Paul, Minn.-based Colonial Craft is striving to become the first U.S. company in the moulding and millwork industry to achieve green labeling certification. Using the Smart Wood certification program, by mid-1994 Colonial Craft hopes to have its picture frame line certified "green." Its five-year goal is to use only certified wood on all products.

"The concept of certification as a strategy and as a tool is really toward the goal of 'sustainable development,'" said Eric Bloomquist, president. Sustainable development, unlike sustainable yield, mandates "that you consider the ecological implications, the economic implications, as well as the social and cultural implications in the area you're talking about."

Colonial Craft first became interested in certification in 1992. A speech by Dr. Jim Bowyer, head of the forest products department at the University of Minnesota "sparked our interest with his estimation that the demand for wood and wood products will likely double over the next 50 years, along with world population," said Jeanne Germain, corporate communications director with Colonial Craft. "This information, combined with the national concerns regarding our forests, convinced us to become part of the solution."

As an industry representative, Bloomquist was a voting member in the Forest Stewardship Council's founding assembly. The FSC is a worldwide, non-profit, non-governmental agency designed to act as an accrediter and monitor certifiers of forest products. In addition, Bloomquist participated on the Forest Trust's panel on wood certification issues, and has been asked to speak before the University of Tennessee's Department of Forestry and Wildlife on the certification of temperate forests.

"Sustainable forest practices ensure the long-term availability of our resource. Certification is a method for evaluating and acknowledging these practices. Colonial Craft needs assurance that quality hardwood lumber will be available for increasing demands. By using the best forest management practices available, our vendors can sustain their resources and be eligible for certification." said Germain.

"Colonial Craft is committed to purchasing certified lumber and the company has set a long-term goal of five years for using only certified wood on all products," Germain said. To date, there are very few certified forests in the United States. "We've just started getting some hard maple from the Menominee Tribal Enterprises this year. They're one of the few certified companies we know of that sells this type of wood," said Germain. Menominee Tribal is certified by Scientific Certification Systems.

In order to receive its own certification, Colonial Craft must prove its vendors adhere to the criteria set by Smart Wood. To do this, Colonial Craft sent a survey to its lumber suppliers requesting information such as: geographic areas of harvest, what type of land the processed logs are from, i.e., company-owned land, private land, or public (state, federal or county), what type of crews harvest the logs, and whether the company has harvest/regeneration plans.

"Certified products may give Colonial Craft a distinct marketing advantage. Consumer surveys done by the Forest Products Department of Purdue University and the furniture industry indicate some willingness to pay premium prices for certified wood products. Whether or not certification will actually raise prices has yet to be proven," Germain said.

Ecological awareness a plus

Colonial Craft is also finding other ways of being more ecologically conscious. For example:

* The company recently initiated an external employee education group through Project Learning Tree. Geared toward elementary schools, through eighth grade, the project involves Colonial Craft employees going into schools and teaching children the importance of wood products.

* Turning what was once considered waste into a sellable product has added new marketing dimensions to Colonial Craft. Looking for a way to use "the long skinny pieces left from ripsawing" brought the company into the picture frame industry. In addition, short pieces from are sold to a gift company which uses the pieces to make wooden crosses.