Dovetail Report: April 2005
Beginner's Guide to Green Building: What the Forest Sector Needs to Know About USGBC & LEED
Kathryn Fernholz

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Introduction

The Green Building movement is a significant and growing phenomenon both domestically and internationally. The leading program for evaluating and recognizing green buildings is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). At the end of 2004, there were more than 1,700 LEED-registered buildings and this number is predicted to grow to nearly 10,000 by the end of 2009. With standards for everything from water conservation to material selection, the USGBC’s LEED program is already having significant impact on nearly all sectors of the building industry, including forest products.

By understanding the LEED system and the specific credits, suppliers can go beyond just offering customers the materials they need and instead start to offer the service of “helping them achieve LEED”. Providing this service does present a learning curve challenge to the industry, but it also represents a significant value-added opportunity.

 
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Kathryn has a B.S. degree in Forest Resources from the University of Minnesota and also studied at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, MN and Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska.