Green Building Standards

Standards for rating a building's "greenness" have been established by several organizations, using point systems to rate energy, water use, materials, design and more.

Some green building programs are sponsored by state or local governments, and others are administered by homebuilding industry associations or by other voluntary groups.

We support green building standards that are voluntary, are consensus-based, incorporate life-cycle assessment, and specify wood products that come from certified sources. Weyerhaeuser actively supports the development of green building standards, including Green Globes and the National Association of Home Builders' Model Green Home Building Guidelines.

A variety of green building codes exist, including:

• Green Globes

  Green Globes is a web-based green building performance tool used in Canadian and U.S. nonresidential building markets. It can be customized for specific needs and provides design guidance that can be used for self-assessments or verified by third-party certifiers for use of the Green Globes logo and brand. The 2006 version fully incorporates life-cycle assessments into its assessment building assemblies and materials. Green Globes recognizes the American Tree Farm System, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Canadian Standards Association and Forest Stewardship Council certification systems as certified sustainable sources for wood building materials.

• LEED

  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, is a rating and third-party certification system for new and existing commercial buildings, high-rise residential buildings and neighborhood development. The current version of LEED does not give credit to most U.S.-produced wood products because it excludes SFI and CSA, the most widely used certification systems in the United States. LEED is also in the process of developing a green building standard for residential buildings and is integrating life-cycle assessments into its rating system.

• NAHB Model Green Building Guidelines

  The National Association of Home Builders' Model Green Building Guidelines are voluntary standards designed for mainstream homebuilders. These guidelines recognize SFI, ATFS, CSA, the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes and FSC certification programs. Innovative design credits can be obtained by using a life-cycle assessment tool to compare building materials and using the analysis to determine the most environmentally preferable product for that building component.