Green through Responsible Forestry
Our world is not just for our generation and we support Green and responsible forestry. Our need for products has to be managed such that we leave a legacy for future generations. All ABS Wood, wood products are renewable. They are all legally harvested from forests and are covered under the US Lacey Act. Our containers are fumigated before arrival into the US to insure no invasive species are introduced. We careful manage our products as we want to protect our home and country.
Plant-a-Tree
ABS Wood helps restore forests by planting trees. The Plant a Tree program renews and maintains forest ecosystems. This helps to manage and sustain natural forest resources for future generations.
- ABSWood contributes to the replanting of Trees in our Forests.
- ABSWood has a continuing program to have trees planted to help sustain our forests for the next generation.
FSC Membership
In support of Green and responsible forestry and a long-term support to the world’s forests, ABSWood is a member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and have been for a number of years. FSC aims to protect forests for future generations by maintaining responsible forestry through management and strict international standards.
- By only providing FSC material, ABSWood aims to prevent deforestation and promote practices that maintain the health of forest’s for future generations.
- FSC certification also tracks the material from the certified forest to the final product thereby ensuring only certified products are utilized.
- For further information on FSC and it’s activity please visit https://fsc.org/en
- FSC or the Forest Stewardship Council® has access and sell FSC Ipe and other exotic hardwoods. When you buy FSC from us, you are assured full Chain of Custody Ipe.
- Who is FSC or Forest Stewardship Council? The Forest Stewardship Council or FSC is an international non-profit dedicated to the management and sustainability of the world’s forests. ABSWood can provide FSC Ipe and other FSC products to help with your Leeds credits. We provide 100% FSC.
FSC certified bodies audit and monitor wood products from forest to your jobsite. This is done via a “Chain of Custody” on each transfer through the Supply Chain. Specifically, FSC can track every item back to its origin.
Why is FSC Important? The FSC Certification promotes positive governance globally to maintain Earth’s forests. Companies and Governments have banded together to monitor and maintain their forests. FSC plays an important role coordinating these efforts. FSC work is such that it is commonly associated with the term “well managed forests.” FSC works to promote Sustainability balancing ecological, economic and socio-cultural in forest management.
Environmental Due Diligence
- ABSWood does not buy or sell species that are listed in CITES as endangered. CITES (Convention on International Trade In Endangers Species) monitors and reports wood species ranging from abundant to endangered.
- ABSWood complies with all government agencies regulations, foreign and domestic, with respect to forest preservation.
- ABSWood complies with the US Lacey act. The Lacey act prohibits trade in species that have been illegally taken, transported or sold.
- ABSWood final milling of our Exotic Imported products is completed in the US.
- ABSWood accessories are of US manufacture. Locally sourced, locally managed, and supporting US Jobs.
Lacey Act!
The hundred year old environmental law that still protects today.
All our wood complies to the US Lacey Act. The act itself was passed in 1900 under president McKinley. Yet, like many laws it is frequently updated. The 2008 iteration brought imported hardwoods under its aegis. The Act’s goal is to insure no illegal forest products are brought into the country. In the case of Brazilian hardwoods, illegally harvested, stolen, and so forth.
What you need to know is companies found in violation of the act face huge fines. The fines can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Rest assured all our products conform to the Lacey act in full. They are all sustainable harvested, milled, and transported per the US Lacey act.
Features and Benefits
ABS Wood’s Ipe and Premium Brazilian Decking products offer builders the choice of FSC or conventional decking. ABS Wood offers FSC, a premium product that can help you work toward meeting such programs as LEED and the ANSI National Green Building Standard.
Affordability
Today’s construction environment and home-buyers have an ever increasing interest in green building. ABS Wood’s Ipe Premium Brazilian Decking is becoming the decking of choice for many commercial and residential construction projects. As builders endeavor to become more competitive and market the right product, we’re backing them with premium products that can control costs, shorten build times, and reduce hassles. We also have the green component as we can offer FSC Brazilian decking.
Durability
ABS Wood only supplies Premium Brazilian Decking – strong, durable, reliable and consistent. Ipe is the decking you can stand behind with total confidence. ABSWood provides Premium Brazilian Decking with all the right properties at the right price.
Sustainability
Today’s home-buyers and progressive home builders are driving the “green movement” with concerns about such things as energy, longevity, maintenance, and environmental impact. As builders push to be more competitive and add environmental responsibility as part of their offering to homeowners, ABS Wood is there. ABS Wood offers builders the choice of Premium Brazilian Decking in conventional, or FSC harvested from responsibly managed forests. If you are working toward meeting programs such as LEED or the ANSI National Green Building Standard, ABS Wood supports you with its third-party certified credentials.
Fields to Forests
Fields To Forests is a program that reclaims and reforests land that was cleared for agriculture and returns the land back to natural forest and well managed plantations.
Fields to Forests insures that 2 trees are planted every 500 board feet purchased.
The trees are selected, planted, and cared for in a professional manned adhering to strict environmental standards and will be included in the Fields To Forests Registry at the time they are field planted. These are premium mixed species trees that have been planted as permanent stands in well managed tropical forest plantations.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) program of the U.S. Green Building Council is a commercial building design guideline and third-party certification tool that aims to “improve occupant well-being, environmental performance and economic returns of buildings using established and innovative practices, standards and technologies” (LEED™ Rating System version 2.1). Incentives for companies to choose to use the LEED™ system include establishing leadership in the “environmentally friendly” community, as well as qualifying for a growing number of local and state government incentives.
Under the LEED™ system, points can be awarded in five categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials & resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation & design process. Credit 7 under the materials & resources category addresses the issue of certified wood, with the intent of encouraging environmentally responsible forest management. The requirements for the credit are:
“Use a minimum of 50% of wood-based materials and products, which are certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) Principles and Criteria, for wood building components. These components include, but are not limited to, structural framing and general dimensional framing, flooring, sub-flooring, wood doors and finishes. Only include materials permanently installed in the project.”
For more information on the LEED-certified green building rating system please click here
Green Harvest
Many people ask about Ipe and how it is harvested. Because of that interest, we took the time to talk to one of our mill owner to ask the questions our customers are asking. Here is that interview.