Log Home News: Katahdin Cedar Log Homes Receives Green Certification 1/31/2008 |
Katahdin Cedar Log Homes Receives "Green" Certification
U.S. Log Home Manufacturer Receives SmartWood Certification
Oakfield, ME: Katahdin Forest Products, parent company of Katahdin Cedar Log Homes, has earned Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain-of-Custody certifi cation from the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program. This certification will enable the log home manufacturer to offer Northern White Cedar used in constructing its log homes from responsibly managed forests. Presently, Katahdin is the only log home manufacturer in the United States to hold a SmartWood Certification.
“We felt that taking this positive step to certify our source forests was an important component to Katahdin’s progressive approach to conserving the environment,” said David Gordon, president. “This enables us to meet the growing demands for green building practices in a competitive market, and will also enable us to reach LEED green building standards as they are approved for home construction in the near future.”
The Rainforest Alliance’s certifi cation program, SmartWood, was founded in 1989 to certify responsible forestry practices and now focuses on providing a variety of certifi cation and auditing services. Chain-of-Custody refers to the complete systems and procedures that allow for the tracking of a forest product from the logs traded by a forest manager or broker, to primary or secondary processing, to the wholesalers or retailers who bring the fi nal product to the marketplace. The Rainforest Alliance SmartWood Program is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Katahdin Cedar Log Homes is certified for the following FSC-pure Northern White Cedar products: interior and exterior trim, decking, log wall stock, log siding, and cedar support posts.
“We are very excited about our ability now to respond positively to growing demands for green homes,” said Gordon. “We’ve taken many steps at our manufacturing facility to reduce our impact on the environment —from a biofuel boiler that heats our mills with waste sawdust to our ethanol distiller that produces vehicle fuel from waste potatoes. Now we can offer our customers a tangible product that is verifiably green.”
The market for green building products and services in the US is expected to grow to $12 billion in 2007, up from more than $7 billion in 2005, according to the US Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization with more than 10,000 member companies and organizations that sets national green building standards.
There has been a growing demand for FSC-certifi ed lumber, plywood and other wood building materials in the US in response to the boom in construction projects registered with the US Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. LEED is the national rating system that defi nes the standards for a building to be “green.”
LEED for Homes is a green home rating system for ensuring that homes are designed and built to be energy and resource effi cient and healthy for occupants. The non-profit organization U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) originally developed the LEED green building rating system in 2000 for new commercial construction. Following LEED’s success in the commercial sector, USGBC began the pilot test of LEED for homes in August 2005. There are currently over 8,200 homes across the U.S. involved in the LEED for Homes pilot program and 336 that have already been LEED certifi ed as a green home.
Key personnel at Katahdin Cedar Log Homes are presently completing training for LEED for Homes construction systems.
About Katahdin Cedar Log Homes:
Founded in 1973 by Foster Gordon and two associates, Katahdin Cedar Log Homes is one of the largest log home manufacturers in the U.S. and is the largest processor of Northern White Cedar in the world. David Gordon continues his father’s legacy by providing high quality, cedar log homes at affordable prices. Based in Oakfield, Maine, Katahdin Cedar Log Homes has more than 80 employees. For more information, visit their LogHome.com Company Storefront.
| Stay Connected: | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Subscribe
Give a Gift
Subscriber Services
|
Give Country's Best Log Homes as a Gift Subscription 
|
Give Log Home Living as a Gift Subscription 
|
Country's Best
|
Log Home Living
Subscribe You may call us if you prefer not to order online: 800-234-8496 If you are not in the continental U.S. please call 386-447-2398 (International).
You can also write to: |
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
