Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Domtar Landowner Grim Locke Wins 2015 FSC Leadership Award

Dec 11, 2015 11:15 AM ET
Campaign: Making a Difference in Environmental Responsibility

Forest Stewardship Council Recognizes Conservation Champions
Awards Highlight Critical Role of Forests in Addressing Global Challenges

As the world prepares for the Paris Climate Conference, the Forest Stewardship Council recognized a group of leaders who are highlighting the critical role that governments, businesses and forests play in addressing climate change.

Deforestation and forest degradation worldwide are a leading cause of carbon emissions. Recognizing this, the second annual FSC Leadership Awards celebrated organizations and people who have long used markets to protect forests, which not only store carbon but also protect water quality, provide wildlife habitat, and enhance the economies of forest-dependent communities.

“The award winners demonstrate that we all have a great opportunity – and responsibility – to help protect forests,” 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 2015 FSC Leadership Awards are as follows:

  • Clough Construction for extensive use of FSC products in construction and communicating its importance to contractors in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • Collins for being a founding member of FSC in 1993 and maintaining a long-term commitment to responsible forest management.
  • Dogwood Alliance for advocating the protection of southern forests and using FSC as a way for the marketplace to reward stewardship.
  • GreenWood Resources for using 100 percent local FSC-certified wood and earning FSC Project Certification in the renovation of their Portland, OR offices.
  • Grim Locke for demonstrating how FSC benefits family woodlands and protects biodiversity in southern forests.
  • Herman Miller for leadership in the furniture industry and long-term commitment to offering FSC-certified options to customers.
  • Mark Jacobs for consistently promoting FSC certification as a way to protect forest values and economies in the Lake States region.
  • Menominee Tribal Enterprises for many generations of responsible management of tribal forests currently managed to FSC standards in Wisconsin.
  • Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for managing the single largest FSC-certified forest in the United States at nearly five million acres.
  • Nordic Structures for developing innovative FSC-certified engineered wood construction products.
  • Pioneer Millworks for communicating the benefits of FSC to customers and supplying a wide array of reclaimed and FSC-certified products.
  • Rivanna Natural Designs for weaving FSC throughout company operations and communicating the value of FSC to hundreds of award honorees.
  • Sustainable Northwest for running the oldest FSC Group Certification in the United States to promote vibrant rural communities.

Recently, the US Environmental Protection Agency directed federal agencies to use FSC-certified lumber in construction projects. This decision will help sequester more carbon in US forests and continue to build the market for products from responsibly managed forests.

The Forest Stewardship Council co-hosted its award celebration with its close partner, the World Wildlife Fund. Collins, Columbia Forest Products, RoyOMartin, SCS Global Services and Certified Wood Products sponsored the event.