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Designing & Building with FSC:

Learn More About LEED

Logo: Green Building Council

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) program of the U.S. Green Building Council is a commercial building design guideline and third-party certification tool that aims to “improve occupant well-being, environmental performance and economic returns of buildings using established and innovative practices, standards and technologies” (LEED™ Rating System version 2.1). Incentives for companies to choose to use the LEED™ system include establishing leadership in the “environmentally friendly” community, as well as qualifying for a growing number of local and state government incentives.

Under the LEED™ system, points can be awarded in five categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials & resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation & design process. Credit 7 under the materials & resources category addresses the issue of certified wood, with the intent of encouraging environmentally responsible forest management. The requirements for the credit are:

“Use a minimum of 50% of wood-based materials and products, which are certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) Principles and Criteria, for wood building components. These components include, but are not limited to, structural framing and general dimensional framing, flooring, sub-flooring, wood doors and finishes. Only include materials permanently installed in the project. Furniture may be included, providing it is included consistently in MR Credits 3–7.” - LEED NC V2.2

To find FSC-certified products for your LEED™ project, please go to the product search page.

For more information about the LEED™ program, visit www.usgbc.org.

FAQs about FSC and LEED

(2010) USGBC and LEED benchmark

(2009) USGBC Second Public Comment Period on LEED benchmark

(2008) FSC-US Comments to USGBC on LEED Benchmark