What You Should Know About...

>> The Lacey Act
>> LEED
>> Going Green on the Jobsite
>> Selling Wood Flooring as "Green"
>> Why Using Wood Flooring Saves Forests
>> Forest Certifications
>> Domestic Sustainable Forestry

Read the HF Green Blog:
Every week, environmental expert
Elizabeth Baldwin takes on issues
that impact the wood flooring industry.

Green Glossary

• Bright greens: environmentalists who believe we need major change but that it should come about through better design and technology
• CARB (California Air Resources Board): arb.ca.gov, sets VOC limits for most of California
• Carbon Footprint: A measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change
• Carbon Neutral: Achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset
• CERFLOR: www.inmetro.gov.br/qualidade/cerflor.asp, the Brazilian government's forest certification program
• CSA (Canadian Standards Association): www.csa-international.org, offers the National Standard for Sustainable Forest Management
• Dark greens: environmentalists with a decidedly negative outlook for the world who believe we need radical political and societal change to solve problems
• EIA (Environmental Investigation Agency): www.eia-global.org/forests.html
• Embodied Energy: the sum of the energy necessary to make a product, from the raw material extraction to the manufacturing process to shipping it to its point of use
• FSC (Forest Stewardship Council): www.fsc.org, a forest product certification system
• FloorScore: www.rfci.com, A certification program for Indoor Air Quality created by the Resilient Floor Covering Institute in conjunction with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS)
• GBI (Green Building Initiative): www.thegbi.org, a nonprofit network of building industry leaders that offers Green Globes certification and promotes NAHB Model Green Building Guidelines
• Green Fatigue: Resistance to environmental practices that arises from continual pressure to "go green"
• Green Globes: www.greenglobes.com, A voluntary standard program for commercial buildings that is more widespread in Canada; it is distributed in the U.S. by the Green Building Initiative (see above)
• Greenguard: www.greenguard.org, an industry-independent, nonprofit organization that offers a certification program for low-emitting interior products and materials
• Greenwashing: any instance when companies make misleading claims about their environmental responsibility
• IAQ (Indoor Air Quality): The air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants
• LCA (Life Cycle Assessment): Also referred to as "Life Cycle Analysis."Often referred to as cradle-to-grave analysis
• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): www.usgbc.org/leed, a green building certification program managed by the USGBC
• Light greens: environmentalists who aren't politically active but make personal lifestyle choices, such as recycling and buying organic, to improve the environment
• NAHB (National Association of Home Builders): www.nahb.org, has Model Green Building Guidelines
• Old-Growth Forest: A forest significantly past the age of maturity of its dominant species
• OTC (Ozone Transport Commission): otcair.org, regulates VOC laws in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia
• PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification): www.pefc.org, originally only in Europe, it is now an umbrella forest certification global in scope and includes other certification programs such as SFI, CSA and CERFLOR
• Precycling: Preventing waste before it happens
• RPP (Responsible Procurement Program): nwfa.org/member/RPP.aspx, a sustainable forest management program offered by the National Wood Flooring Association
• RRP: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program
• SCAQMD (South Coast Air Quality Management District) (of California): aqmd.gov, the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the smoggiest region of the U.S.
• SCS (Scientific Certification Systems): scscertified.org, is a certifying body for FSC
• SFI (Sustainable Forest Initiative): www.aboutsfi.org, a forest certification that was originally created by the American Forest & Paper Association but is now independently managed
• Smartwood: www.smartwood.org, a verification and certification service offered by the Rainforest Alliance
• TFF (Tropical Forest Foundation): www.tropicalforestfoundation.org, offers verification systems
• TFT (Tropical Forest Trust): www.tropicalforesttrust.com, offers verification systems
• Triple Bottom Line: Going beyond finances to take environmental and social factors into account
• USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council): www.usgbc.org, offers the LEED program
• VOC: Volatile Organic Compound
• WWF's GFTN (World Wildlife Fund's Global Forest & Trade Network): www.gftn.panda.org Among other info, the site has links to the GFTN's Keep It Legal and Responsible Purchasing of Wood Products publications

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