WASHINGTON –The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced a determination on wood certification systems in the LEED v5 green building rating system in alignment with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), the Forest Stewardship Council-US (FSC-US), and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). This includes the recognition of major sustainable wood standards in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), marking a significant advancement in promoting the use of sustainably sourced wood. The goal of this alignment is to spur demand for more certified wood products worldwide. The newly released evaluation of wood certification programs in LEED v5 allows wood sourced from multiple credible standards to count toward LEED points. This includes wood sourced from the three most recognized chain-of-custody standards: FSC, SFI, and PEFC. While each program has differences…, USGBC determined that all the chain-of-custody standards offer solid protection against deforestation and promote sustainable forestry.