NWFA Forms FSC Procurement Group

St. Louis, MO, Nov. 13, 2009--The National Wood Flooring Association has announced that it has formed the Forest Stewardship Council Procurement Group.

The purpose of the group is to explore, review and develop systems for private landowners to adopt FSC certification.

FSC certification offers the highest assurance of environmental and social performance in the forest products industry. Demand for FSC-certified wood has increased dramatically during the past few years based on an increase in consumer desire for environmentally responsible building products.

In the U.S., approximately 270 million acres of working forest are owned by small woodland owners, but only 2.5 million acres are certified to FSC standards. The FSC Procurement Group will work to remove the barriers to FSC certification, and increase the amount of FSC wood available in the US.

In addition to the NWFA, several prominent environmental groups have joined the FSC Procurement Group. They include the Rainforest Alliance, Domtar, FSC Family Forest Alliance, Scientific Certification Systems, and the Nature Conservancy.

The FSC Procurement Group was formed as part of the NWFA’s Responsible Procurement Program, which recognizes wood flooring companies that work to sustain the world’s forest.

The program is supported by the Forest Stewardship Council-US and the FSC Family Forests Alliance, which recognize the NWFA RPP as a valid incremental approach toward socially and environmentally responsible forestry.

The program is transitional to higher levels of environmental responsibility based on three tiers of increasing voluntary participation and associated certification.