2017 Forest Stewardship Council Leadership Awards

These annual awards recognize individuals and organizations that have demonstrated their commitment to forest conservation.

The Forest Stewardship Council has announces its 2017 FSC Leadership Awards in a celebration at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Boston, MA this week. Recognizing enduring commitment to forest conservation, the award shines a light on people, companies, and buildings that are promoting responsible forest management, often through innovative practices.forest conservation

“We were astounded by the accomplishments of our award winners this year,” said Corey Brinkema, President of the Forest Stewardship Council US. “By building the market for FSC products, the award winners show we can conserve forests, even as we use forest products in our daily lives,” he added.

Winners of the 2017 FSC Leadership Awards are as follows:

Patagonia for developing the world’s first FSC-certified Yulex natural rubber wetsuits, and for communicating the importance of responsible forest management to its millions of customers.

Staples for marketing more than 1,000 individual FSC-certified paper and custom furniture products online and in stores, and for working to help family woodland owners earn FSC certification to increase supply of certified materials.

Procter & Gamble for making its iconic Charmin and Puffs tissue products FSC-certified and for working with partners to add 500,000 acres of FSC-certified forest in the Southeastern US.

Wilsonart Engineered Surfaces for being the first North American laminate manufacturer to earn FSC certification, offering thousands of certified products in the construction marketplace.

ARAUCO North America for investing approximately $400 million in a new FSC-certified particleboard mill in Grayling, MI (along with nine other certified mills in North America) to meet demand from its customers, notably IKEA with its goal of 100% FSC-certified or recycled inputs for forest products by 2020.

Monadnock Paper Mills for replacing over three billion PVC gift cards with recyclable FSC-certified fiber-based cards and for being the first paper mill in the United States to earn FSC certification.

Dixie Plywood and Lumber Company for more than 10 years of commitment to marketing FSC-certified building materials in the Southeastern United States.

Forest Products Laboratory, Center for Wood Anatomy Research for applying state-of-the-art forensic wood science to verify the accuracy of FSC claims on more than 1,000 products annually.

Center for Forest and Wood Certification at the University of Kentucky for providing technical expertise to forest managers and supply chain businesses to grow FSC certification from Michigan to Alabama.

Seven Islands Land Company and Pingree Associates for its early adoption and continuous FSC certification of more than 800,000 acres of timberland in Maine since 1993, and working to help build the FSC system over nearly 25 years.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources for being one of the longest-standing FSC-certified forest managers in the Lake States region, with almost four million acres of FSC-certified forest.

Heron Hall, McLennan Design, and Smallwood Design and Construction for using 100% FSC-certified or reclaimed wood in this residential project, including shou-sugi-ban (charred wood) exterior walls — in pursuit of the Living Building Challenge.

Bill Fisch Forest Stewardship and Education Centre, Regional Municipality of York, and DIALOG for using 100% FSC-certified wood in construction and for sharing information about sustainability to thousands of visitors annually.

Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden Tasting Room, and Green Hammer for using more than 95% FSC-certified wood products — in conjunction with a small amount of Eastern Oregon Grassland Restoration Juniper — in this highly visible wine tasting room.

Michael Conroy for helping to launch FSC and for two decades of commitment to the organization, as a grant maker at the Ford Foundation, Chair of the Board of FSC US, Chair of the Board of FSC International, and active member in the Social Chamber.

Christopher McDonell for 20 years of work shaping responsible forest management in Canada as Manager of Aboriginal and Environmental Relations for Tembec.

In conjunction with the awards announcement, FSC has also released new research into FSC-certified building product availability. (This link is to Dropbox, from which you can download to your Dropbox files, or choose Direct Download for an Excel file.) The new research is part of an initiative to help building project teams find FSC-certified products.

The awards celebration is being hosted by FSC at the Boston showroom of Knoll, an FSC-certified furniture company.