Engineered wood gets even greener

II/HAT'S all this "green" nonY Y sense about?

It's everywhere. I'm sure you get questions everyday from your customers like, "Do you have NAUF plywood?" or "Is the lumber and hardwood panels you stock Forest Stewardship Council-certified?" And, oh yeah, "What green products do you have that will help me achieve LEED credits?"

Today, most distributors have answers to these questions. However, the question that still stumps most people is "Where can I get green engineered wood products?" Now that's a tougher question to answer.

The fact is, EWPs are innately green, for a lot of reasons. Yet often they do not fit within today's textbook definition of a green product. Yes, they are NAUF. Yes, they meet California CARB Phase 1. And yes, they utilize smaller, faster growing species of trees, which is better for our environment.

What most people don't understand is they are not required to be NAUF or CARB Phase I compliant. And, by design, EWPs require much less wood to achieve the same load-bearing capability of solid sawn lumber. The fact is these are all good attributes that make it a socially responsible product, which leaves a neutral carbon footprint on the environment. So then all EWPs are equally green by today's standards-or are they?

There are two important characteristics that can make engineered wood a true green product by today's standards: third-party certification and contributing to achieving LEED credits. Certification by a third party such as FSC ensures the wood used to produce the I-joist or laminated veneer lumber (LVL) comes from well-managed forestlands. Contribution to achieving LEED credits is important because your customer needs the cred- its to secure building construction projects.

Unfortunately, only a handful of EWP producers appear to be FSC-certified. Pacific Wood Laminates, Brookings, Or., has a mixed credit chain-of-custody certification to offer FSC-certified LVL, upon request.

Roseburg Forest Products, Dillard, Or., also has certified its line of Rigidlam LVL under the mixed credit system. LEED grants 1007o credit for mixed credit products.

"Certifying our Rigidlam LVL has been a high priority," noted Bob Berch, EWP national sales manager for Roseburg. "Our timberlands in California have been certified since 2000, and we have offered FSC-certified plywood products since that time. FSC-certified Rigidlam LVL is an important addition to our green product line, which is the largest and most diverse offered in North America today."

Nordic Engineered Wood, which had been FSC certified for mixed sources as well as ISO 14001 certified, just had its EWPs certified as a "system."

"This includes complete maufacturing operations-from harvesting to end product," explained Walter Hayduk. "Products include all Nordic glulam lines. Nordic I-joists fall under this jurisdiction as well, since the flange of the Nordic I-joist is essentially pure black spruce wood fiber, which is considered a glulam application."

Several glulam producers are also FSC certified, includingAmerican Laminators, Drain, Or., and Unadilla Laminated Products, Unadilla, N.Y.

As the demand for more green EWP increases, expect more manufacturers to begin certifying their products. But as for now, the hunt for an FSC-certified EWP supplier can be a difficult one.