An Exploratory Analysis of Environmentally-Certified Wood Products (ECWPs) in the Residential Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Market: 2018 and 2011

Abstract

Green building programs incentivize building practices to reduce a building’s impact on the environment and provide healthier spaces for occupants. These programs have gained popularity across the world, and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, founded by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), is one of the most popular green building certification systems in the U.S. In a LEED for Homes project, residential builders can earn certification points through a variety of practices. One of these practices is using environmentally-certified wood products (ECWPs) in various building components. Before 2016, the LEED point system only recognized the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification as an ECWP. However, a new Alternative Compliance Path (ACP) in LEED recognizes additional wood product certifications, including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program. For these reasons, the residential LEED market provides a large and growing market for both FSC- and SFI-certified products. With the growing popularity of LEED, the development of the ACP in LEED, and the expansion of forest certification systems throughout the world, this research seeks to understand the current perceptions and use of ECWPs in the residential LEED market. In this study, we surveyed LEED homebuilders and remodelers across the U.S. to assess their awareness, perceptions, and use of FSC- and SFI-certified wood products. We also compared these data to a similar survey conducted in 2011 to track changes over time. We found that survey respondents in 2018 showed similar levels of awareness of FSC and SFI products, but they were more likely to use FSC-certified wood in their building practices. We also found that the overall usage of both ECWPs has not changed significantly between 2011 and 2018, although some results point to a decreasing awareness of both certification systems. Additionally, we identified trends in the residential LEED market and correlations between different builder attributes and their levels of awareness and use of ECWPs. Overall, this research provides a more comprehensive picture of recent trends in the residential LEED and ECWP markets.