The US government has announced a strategy to promote the use of wood as a green building material.
At an event to launch the International Year of the Forest, agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack presented a three-part plan addressing the Forest Service’s and the department’s current green building practices.
The strategy includes a commitment by the US Forest Service to preferentially select wood in new building construction while maintaining its commitment to certified green building standards.
The agriculture department will also make a commitment to using wood and other agricultural products as it fulfils president Obama’s executive order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance.
The US Forest Service will actively look for opportunities to demonstrate the innovative use of wood as a green building material for all new structures of 10,000ft² or more using recognised green building standards such as LEED, Green Globes or the National Green Building Standard.
