US timber trade welcomes green building report

US timber traders have welcomed a report which indicates that wood should factor as a primary building material in green construction, according to industry newsletter Random Lengths.

The US Forest Service report says “the use of wood as a building material can provide substantial economic and environmental benefits to our nation’s citizens”.

It follows a letter sent in May by more than 40 conservation and forest industry organisations applauding the US Department of Agriculture’s green building strategy.

Tom Martin, president of the American Forest Foundation, said giving the green light to wood as the green building material should dramatically impact the market for sustainably-grown wood in the US.

The study recommends three initiatives to reduce the effects of climate change and create jobs in the wood product sector.

These are the Green Building Strategy Group, the Woodworks programme and a project by the APA – The Engineered Wood Association which shows how carbon-storing wood products can be used in typical residential and non-residential construction.