The Outlook
April 2007

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W e l c o m e

This month we evaluate framing materials, provide an update on the SFI forest certification program, and debate the complexities of green choices. Also, Dovetail's Eco-Affordable Housing Program announces two new projects in northwestern Minnesota to help expand the benefits of green building as a rural economic development opportunity. As always, we aim to provide objective information and models that help clarify complex issues, expand understanding, and increase the capacity to make good decisions. Enjoy!

- Jeff

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I n  T h i s  I s s u e:

Dovetail Commentary:

To be green or not to be green

Dovetail Reports:

Materials Selection in Framing: Is Steel Framing a Good Environmental Choice?

Forest Certification Update : The Sustainable Forestry Initiative

Dovetail News:

More Green Building for Rural Communties

To be green or not to be green

It's a pretty complex question..sort of

Dr. Jeff Howe
April 2007

In this current issue of our newsletter we have an article about the environmental choice between wood and steel, with the example of a residential building project.   The gift of this article is that when you know the truth, it makes simple basic sense.   Yet the challenge to the article is that the information it contains has been true for decades, and the public appears to be no closer to this truth than they were twenty years ago.   This is frustrating, especially to those of us that have tried to educate people throughout this period.   Our shared ignorance about the things we buy and their impacts on the environment and ourselves is sometimes shocking.

Materials Selection in Framing: Is Steel Framing a Good Environmental Choice?

Jim Bowyer

Suppose that in designing a residential home, you have an objective of minimizing environmental impacts. Once decisions are made regarding house size and orientation on the site (both factors that have a significant impact on energy consumption and overall environmental impact over the life of the structure), one of the first issues to be resolved is selection of framing materials. A question that may arise is: Is it more environmentally responsible to use steel framing instead of wood framing?

Although promoted as an environmentally preferable material, and classified as such in several green building programs, the production and use of steel framing results in a number of adverse environmental impacts that greatly exceed the impacts of available renewable alternatives such as wood.   Even when considering steel framing that contains recycled content as high as 35 percent, considerable energy is consumed in the production process and places steel products near the top of any embodied energy ranking of construction materials. The high conductivity of steel and associated need for energy-intensive insulation adds to the environmental burden of steel-framed structures. Finally, high energy intensity and manufacturing processes unique to steel translate to very high levels of emissions to air and water and global warming potentials. The bottom line of this analysis is that it is rarely appropriate to characterize steel as the more environmentally benign material when compared to wood. Additionally, the take home message is that evaluating the impacts of a material and comparing alternatives needs to be a thoughtful and holistic process that does not rely on individual attributes.   The use of existing and readily available life cycle assessment data offers the opportunity to efficiently accomplish this more thoughtful analysis.

Forest Certification Update: The Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Kathryn Fernholz

In 2004 and 2005, Dovetail Partners released a series of reports outlining the major forest certification programs. Since that time significant change has occurred in certification programs nationally and globally. Over the next several months, Dovetail will produce a series of reports that highlight recent changes within each program.  

This first report summarizes changes to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), examines how these changes enhance the program, and offers insights as to future challenges to program success. In total, recent changes have made what was a national, trade association effort into an internationally recognized, independent certification program that includes a rigorous accreditation process and chain-of-custody accountability. This evolution has been rapid and comprehensive, and the full benefits and impacts still need time to develop.  

To download the report, click here.

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D o v e t a i l   N e w s

More Green Building Planned for Rural Minnesota

Dovetail Partners Plans New Projects in Warren and Greenbush

Hundreds of new homes are built in rural Minnesota each year, and with any luck more and more of those houses will feature green building practices such as energy-efficient design and the use of local materials.

“A well-designed house can be more affordable to heat and cool, and it can also be a more comfortable home to live in,” says Alison Lindburg, Director for the Eco-Affordable Housing Program at Dovetail Partners.

Dovetail Partners, a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, is working with several partners to develop two new projects in northwestern Minnesota that will help demonstrate the benefits of green building.

For the complete article, click here.

“The Outlook” is the monthly e-newsletter of Dovetail Partners Inc, a 501c3 non profit corporation.

Dovetail Partners is a highly skilled team that collaborates to develop unique concepts, systems, programs and models to foster sustainable forestry and catalyze responsible trade and consumption.

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