The Outlook
August 2007

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W e l c o m e

This month we offer two new reports and announce the availability of the F.R.E.E. Network as an environmental education resource for teachers and students of all ages. The Forest Resource Environmental Education (F.R.E.E.) Network began as a coalition of representatives from state and federal government agencies, the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota forest products industry to facilitate dissemination of information about forest resources and the products that flow from them. In 2007, administration of the F.R.E.E. Network website was transferred from the University of Minnesota to Dovetail Partners, Inc.

Over the past several months, Dovetail has been updating the site and making sure it is ready for another busy school year.  One of the most popular features, The Environmental Quiz, was updated with the latest facts and figures just this month.  Perfect timing for the first test of the semester (don't worry we provide the answer sheet as well)!   Enjoy!

- Jeff

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I n   T h i s   I s s u e:

Dovetail Reports:

Dovetail News:

The F.R.E.E Network

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D o v e t a i l   R e p o r t s

All reports are available online.
http://www.dovetailinc.org/ReportView.php?action=search

Alison Lindburg

In recent years, interest and activities related to green building have been on the rise.   As builders, architects, and code developers shift toward energy-efficiency and greater use of responsible materials in housing, the benefits of these shifts are also influencing affordable housing. Green building and affordable housing priorities intersect strongly around desires to reduce operating costs for building occupants, and they can also create synergies for supporting local needs and values, utilizing responsible materials, and designing self-sustaining sites with minimal environmental impacts.

The idea of combining green building innovations with affordable housing needs is new in some ways but the general overlap of interests is well established.   Certainly, green building certification programs and formalized standards for green building are a recent development, but efforts to design efficient and affordable housing are not.   As both conversations have developed over time, the opportunity to combine efforts has increased and crystallized.  

This report provides an overview of the concept of “eco-affordable housing” and identifies significant opportunities for adoption of green building innovations within the affordable housing sector. Several examples are included to illustrate the intersection between green and affordable within and outside North America, including China, where housing is a major challenge. As the interest in green building and the need for affordable housing continue to grow both domestically and internationally, building bridges between the two areas is likely to increase the impact of both.

To download the report, click here (pdf, 3.3 MB).

http://www.dovetailinc.org/reports/pdf/DovetailEcoAfford0807ol.pdf



"Certified Once, Accepted Everywhere" - Is the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem?

Matthew Wenban-Smith

Previous Dovetail articles have emphasized the importance of international standards, and stressed the fact that differences in standards matter, to producers, customers, and stakeholders.   But differences in standards only deliver differences in performance if they are actually implemented.   Whether a forest is certified as complying with FSC standards or PEFC standards, decision makers need to have confidence in the reliability of whichever certificates of compliance are being issued if they are going to make purchasing or investment decisions based on them.

This confidence depends on the competence and integrity of the certification body, underwritten by the effectiveness of the system under which it is accredited.

There are many accreditation bodies around the world. It is worth asking whether all accreditation bodies are equally reliable.   It is also worth considering the process by which accreditation bodies demonstrate their reliability.

If accreditation bodies can show they are equally reliable, then there is the potential to achieve a system in which a single accreditation provides international recognition for certificates issued.   Products or services anywhere in the world could be "certified once, accepted everywhere".

This article considers two models designed to deliver internationally recognized accreditation in the forest sector.   One model is followed by FSC the other by PEFC.   Neither is perfect.   Both could be improved.   This article suggests how.

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D o v e t a i l   N e w s

The F.R.E.E. Network

A Resource for Environmental Educators

The FREE Network contains more than 100 interactive, scientifically sound resources and links for students and teachers at all grade levels to learn about forests and forest management. The network was started by the University of Minnesota and is now hosted by Dovetail Partners, a non-profit environmental organization based in Minneapolis. The network is frequently updated to offer the most current informat ion possible. Visit the site today for information you can use in your classroom ˆ and don‚t forget to take the popular environmental quiz!

http://www.freenetwork.org

To Subscribe, click here.

For information about donating to Dovetail, click here.