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Sustainable Lumber:

Where does the lumber really come from?

Sarah Campbell

Central Michigan University

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Independent Study

May 5, 2015

Introduction

Sustainability has become a business norm today. Companies are encouraged to

switch to the sustainable business model to ensure that they will have a long

lasting company in today’s tough market.

“A sustainable business or green business is an enterprise that has

minimal negative impact on the global or local environment, community, society,

or economy-a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line.”

The Triple Bottom Line was a phrase developed by John Elkington in the 1990s.

The sustainability leaders were looking for a new language to express an

expansion of the environmental agenda that sustainability had focused on (Enter

the Triple Bottom Line, 2004). This definition shows that there is a balance

between social, economic, and environmental impacts that companies have. The

TBL agenda focuses corporations on seven different drivers to ensure that their

company is operating as sustainable as possible. These include the markets they

operate in, the values that their company upholds, transparency to consumers of

their business, life-cycles of their products, partnerships between other TBL

companies, time management, and corporate responsibility within the company

(Enter the Triple Bottom Line, Elkington 2004). Companies usually have

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pressures from society to minimize their impact on the environment, which is one

of the main drivers of this TBL theory.

For example, you can apply these principles to local Michigan companies like

Urbanwood, Biewer Lumber, and Tri-County Logging among many others.

Lumber companies in Michigan are now turning to the sustainable harvesting and

focusing on the TBL. When looking into sustainable lumber companies, to my

surprise there are dozens. Now that there has been a push towards the “green

building” movement, contractors or builders want to learn more about where their

products came from and if they are harmful to the environment. Since the LEED

certification standards that were introduced in March of 2000, there has been a

great push by homeowners to make their homes green. Homeowners or builders

can get their home certified green by the United States Green Building Council

and which can also lead to tax credits from the government to lower your annual

housing taxes (USGBC History). With these incentives, more and more builders

have been converting to the alternative building style.

Michigan Forests are another important factor when companies decide to switch

towards the more environmentally friendly building. The logging industry in

Michigan is one of the largest producers of capita for the state. It supports

154,000 jobs valued at $14.6 billion dollars, this industry is very important to the

states income (Michigan Forest Products Industry Snapshot, 2015). Michigan is

in the top ten largest forests in the United States and is the largest landowner

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holding about 4.1 million acres of state forest, state parks, and other lands (SFI

Michigan, 2014). With the mass amount of land available for harvesting, these

forests need to be maintained and not overused. There also is a mass amount of

wildlife and recreation that use the forests. Hunting is another big recreational

activity for the residents in Michigan. Michigan ranks third in the nation for the

number of residents who hunt (721,000), behind Texas and Pennsylvania

respectively (Information about Hunters in Michigan, Sternberg). Without the

forests, the wildlife will eventually find another habitat up north to Canada or may

die off because of depleted forests. This will cause a major effect to the hunting

in Michigan along with a change in the ecosystem. There are more than 3500

species of plants and animals that are a part of the great lakes region (About Our

Great Lakes: Ecology). Some of the native animals are the black bear, fox,

moose, coyote, gray wolf, elk, and white - tailed deer, among various others

species. If these animals don’t have a place to live then they will eventually die

off.

The construction industry is one of the largest industries in the country employing

7.6 million workers (Construction in the United States, 2013). Construction is

always happening around us whether residential or commercial. There is

fluctuations of how much construction is maintained especially in 2008 for the

housing market crash, but it always is going on everywhere in the world. These

construction companies have the opportunity to ensure that they are harvesting

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materials while being environmentally conscious and ensuring that they are

making a profit by involving the Triple Bottom line in their business.

As a soon to be contractor and new business owner, I am going to make sure

that all the materials that I use for construction of the homes are green or not

harmful to the environment. From the lumber I use in framing, to the granite

countertops that are put into the home. But how do I really know where these

materials are coming from? One of the main issues I see today is that lumber in

construction stores is hard to track the chain of custody. Material in the store can

be said that it is sustainable lumber but do we really know that? Some big

corporations like Lowe’s or Home Depot say in their wood policy that they are

100% dedicated to ensuring the lumber they receive is sustainable. Here is an

excerpt from Lowe’s wood policy page:

In order to meet this goal, Lowe's will: Aggressively phase out the purchase of wood products from endangered forests as these

areas are identified and mapped. This includes an immediate ban on wood coming from the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia.

Work with vendors to encourage the maintenance of natural forests and environmentally responsible forest practices.

Give preference to the procurement of wood products from independently certified, well-managed forests. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is recognized as having the highest certification standards available today and will be given preference over other certification systems.

Work with our customers to increase the efficiency of wood use, including the promotion of wood reuse, recycling, and advanced framing techniques.

Work with our suppliers to increase the procurement of quality recycled, engineered and alternative products, when their environmental benefits are clearly demonstrated, including alternative fiber and tree-free paper products used for printing and packaging.

(Lowe’s Wood Policy)

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This policy may say that they are retaining a specific wood policy, but when I

went into the store and asked how they separate the lumber that is SFI or FSC

certified, the worker told me there is no way to know. All the material is

intermingled with the lower grade lumber. Since sustainable lumber is usually

more expensive than the traditional lumber, it is imperative that commercial and

private stores are able to track where their products come from. Contractors do

not want to be paying a premium rate for a low-grade material.

In this article, I will be focusing in on where the lumber comes from, how the

companies track the lumber, and what certification is out there for ensuring that

the lumber is sustainably harvested. I will also go into Michigan forestry and look

at what percentage of sustainable lumber really comes from Michigan. Finally I

will discuss the a couple lumber companies in Michigan to see how they ensure

that their products are sustainably harvested.

A Word from the Student

This report on sustainable lumber satisfies the main requirement for Independent

Study with Bruce Frost. During the semester the course is taken as an

independent course where I must research and come up with a topic to fulfill the

requirement for three credit hours. I chose to mainly focus on forestry in

Michigan. Michigan Forests are very important to because they not only host

recreation and wildlife, but they are a very large producer of money for the state.

The depletion of forest will drastically affect the ecosystem. I chose to study the

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forests and travel to Steelcase to see how major corporations deal with the

logging industry. As a potential licensed builder when finishing my degree, I will

be transitioning to green building of homes. When creating this case study, I

have chosen to focus mainly Michigan lumber companies and Michigan forestry.

Michigan Forests

There are approximately 20 million acres of forestland that supports the lumber

industry in Michigan (Forest Products Industry Overview, 2015). The land is

dispersed in State forests, commercial forests, national forests, and private

forests. The Michigan Forests are a very important industry in Michigan. They

supply about $14.6 billion dollars in economic impact to the state. There is about

4.59M acres of state owned land that is maintained by the state while there is

only 2.7M acres of Federal forests (Forest Products Snapshot, 2015). The

leading source of timber supply comes from Nonindustrial Private Forests which

is a whopping 64% compared to the rest of the forests (Michigan Forests

Products Industry Snapshot, 2015). If you were to look at the attached document

called “2015 Michigan Forest Projects”, it shows the different products that are

made out of the timber. Michigan made products include: veneers, upholstery

materials, overlays, laminates, exotic hardwoods, paper and pulp materials

among others. Michigan is dedicated to recreation, wildlife, and conservation but

is a major producer in the logging industry. There are about 800 logging and

trucking firms, and 300 primary manufacturers including sawmills, veneer mills,

pulp and paper mills, and engineered board manufacturers (Forest Products

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Industry Overview, 2015). In 2014 there were 891,488 cords of timber sold from

the Michigan State forests (State Forest Timber Sales, 2014). The amount of

timber sold is still even lower than in 2010 when the housing market crashed.

With these numbers it shows that the logging industry is a very big factor in

Michigan.

As mentioned above, there are more than 3500 species of plants and animals

that call the Michigan forests their habitat. If we were to destroy these habitats,

we would lose a lot of recreational and leisure opportunities. In 2013, there was

an estimated 661,788 hunters that spent 9.2 million days in the field (Deer

Harvest Survey, 2013). These numbers show that the hunting season is greatly

valued to residents in Michigan. With Michigan being the in the top 3 states for

hunting, it would be devastating to the hunters to lose all this wildlife. A lot of the

forests are also used for recreation that isn’t including hunting. For example four-

wheeling in the summer time and snowmobiling in the fall/winter. There are more

than 6,500 groomed snowmobiling trails in Michigan. The terrain takes you

through the state and national forests, and across 11,000 frozen lakes

(Snowmobiling, 2015). Michigan is one of the states that is used to the fullest

extent by all that live here.

By depleting our resources, it will be hard for

the state to come back and be a top leader in

forest production and harvesting. Michigan

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has some of the least harvested forests in the US but there are some areas that

experience forest loss (Facts, 2015). The Michigan forest products industry

creates about 12 million tons of wood. Each ton is then about $100 worth of

economic activity. That is about $1.3 billion of economic activity! (Facts, 2015).

Fortunately, the Michigan forests are growing very fast. Each year there is about

2.7 times more wood that is grown than harvested (Facts, 2015). Although the

forests are growing quickly, this does not mean that we should overharvest and

use bad forestry practices. Another positive is that the Michigan DNR and various

other lumber companies in Michigan have been onto the sustainability idea. The

DNR works vigorously to maintain the forests and make sure that they are not

used irresponsibly. Lumber companies like Plum Creek have devoted their whole

business to sustainability. They create products that are sustainably harvested

and they highly value the sustainability throughout Michigan and the country.

With the quick reproduction of forests in Michigan, it is safe to say we are way

ahead of other states when it comes forestry.

Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)

In Michigan, there are tree farms dedicated to renewable forests. The

Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) Implementation Committee goes around

certifying lumber organizations and forests to ensure that they are sustainable

and renewable. The SFI label is one of the lead certifying product labels around

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the country for consumers looking for the eco-labels. About 72% of companies

agree that eco-labels contribute to better purchasing decisions (Sustainable

Forestry Initiative-Michigan, 2014). In

Michigan this is very important because we

don’t want to use up all our resources and

then end up running out and degrading the

environment. The SFI is a nonprofit

organization that is dedicated to promoting

sustainable forest management (About Us,

2014). This company focuses on the TBL by

ensuring that forest management is not harming the environment while creating a

profit to send back to the environment and maintaining a good look when helping

people. The certification process is based on principles to promote sustainable

forest management including measures to protect water quality, biodiversity,

wildlife habitat, species at risk, and forests (About Us, 2014).

There are two options to get certification labels, which goes to forest landowners

or the companies that don’t own the forests but want to purchase materials. The

second option or the Procurement or wood sourcing operations label allows the

companies to have the label so their customers are ensuring the products that

they buy are coming from a sustainable forest. This is also known as chain-of-

custody certification. To ensure that their materials are harvested and grown

sustainably, SFI will hire third party auditors to issue the company a certificate.

Figure 2 SFI Label

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To obtain these certifications, the companies or landowners must be audited by

the SFI. The SFI program participants must certify that the operations are to the

SFI Standards to receive the label (Certification, 2014).

The 2015-2019 standard is renewed every four years to make sure it is updated

and congruent with the new sustainability practices in the forestry industry. Some

standards include the chain-of-custody standard, the SFI fiber-sourcing standard,

and On-product labels. The fiber-sourcing standard goes to address the 90% of

the world’s forests that are not SFI program participants (SFI Standard, 2015).

The participants must show the raw material in their supply chain to ensure that it

is sustainable or certified SFI. The next standard is the chain-of-custody

standard. It is an accounting system that tracks forest fiber content through

production and manufacturing to the end product (SFI Standard, 2015).

Companies use the certification to communicate to their production partners and

even their customers that they have ensured the sustainable growth and

manufacturing of the products they use. Next we have the SFI on-product labels.

They are recognized globally as a leader in sustainable forestry products. The

SFI has a Certified Sourcing label and several chain-of-custody labels to place

on products. There is a label ID number on all labels that is unique to each

organization that applies for the use of the SFI label (SFI Standard, 2015). All

certifications are by third party auditors that are trained to certify forests and

products. The SFI is also the only forest certification standard in the world that

requires participants to support forestry research (Basics of SFI, 2015).

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Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is not the only certification process well known

around the nation. There is another certification process called the Forest

Stewardship Council. The FSC’s mission

is “to promote environmentally sound,

socially beneficial and economically

prosperous management of the world’s

forests” (FSC Mission and Vision, 2015).

Their mission statement goes along with

the triple bottom line principles of focusing

on the people, planet, and the economics.

The FSC has focused on ten main principles when promoting the forest

stewardship and certification process. These principles include the following:

PRINCIPLE #1: COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND FSC PRINCIPLES - Forest

management shall respect all applicable laws of the country in which they occur,

and international treaties and agreements to which the country is a signatory,

and comply with all FSC Principles and Criteria.

PRINCIPLE #2: TENURE AND USE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES - Long-

term tenure and use rights to the land and forest resources shall be clearly

defined, documented and legally established.

Figure 3 FSC Label

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PRINCIPLE #3: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS - The legal and customary

rights of indigenous peoples to own, use and manage their lands, territories, and

resources shall be recognized and respected.

PRINCIPLE #4: COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND WORKER’S RIGHTS - Forest

management operations shall maintain or enhance the long-term social and

economic well being of forest workers and local communities.

PRINCIPLE # 5: BENEFITS FROM THE FOREST - Forest management

operations shall encourage the efficient use of the forest’s multiple products and

services to ensure economic viability and a wide range of environmental and

social benefits.

PRINCIPLE #6: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT - Forest management shall

conserve biological diversity and its associated values, water resources, soils,

and unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes, and, by so doing, maintain

the ecological functions and the integrity of the forest.

PRINCIPLE #7: MANAGEMENT PLAN - A management plan — appropriate to

the scale and intensity of the operations — shall be written, implemented, and

kept up to date. The long-term objectives of management, and the means of

achieving them, shall be clearly stated.

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PRINCIPLE #8: MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT - Monitoring shall be

conducted — appropriate to the scale and intensity of forest management — to

assess the condition of the forest, yields of forest products, chain of custody,

management activities and their social and environmental impacts.

PRINCIPLE # 9: MAINTENANCE OF HIGH CONSERVATION VALUE

FORESTS - Management activities in high conservation value forests shall

maintain or enhance the attributes that define such forests. Decisions regarding

high conservation value forests shall always be considered in the context of a

precautionary approach.

PRINCIPLE # 10: PLANTATIONS - Plantations shall be planned and managed in

accordance with Principles and Criteria 1-9, and Principle 10 and its Criteria.

While plantations can provide an array of social and economic benefits, and can

contribute to satisfying the world’s needs for forest products, they should

complement the management of, reduce pressures on, and promote the

restoration and conservation of natural forests.

All of the information above was taken from the FSC website online. Today there

are more than 40,000 American family forests certified by the FSC (Why Forests

Matter). The certification process is important because they are trying to make

sure that future generations can also appreciate what we have for forests today.

The FSC has certified 33,620,860 acres of forest in the US and 166,079,560

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acres certified in the US and Canada (FSC Facts, 2015). This shows that the

FSC is a very prominent certification process nationally and internationally.

To get certified by the FSC there are a few different options. Like the SFI, they

certify forest management and the chain of custody. Another similarity to SFI is

that they use an independent FSC-accredited Certification Bodies. The certifiers

verify that all forests that are following by the requirements of the FSC. There are

about nine certifying bodies to certify forests and companies in search of the FSC

label. Something different than the SFI is that the FSC has the option for an FSC

mix label. This means that manufacturers can mix FSC-labeled products under

controlled conditions (Controlled Wood, 2015). As I mentioned before that when I

spoke to Lowe’s lumber yard employee, he said that they have no way of

knowing what product is certified or not. The controlled wood label could have

been implemented in the store that is why it didn’t matter that the wood was

mixed. This standard minimizes the risk of using wood products from

“unacceptable” sources in FSC-labeled products (Controlled Wood, 2015).

Another option that the SFI did not have is to minimize the costs to those that are

looking to certify their forests with the FSC organization. There is a group

certification option available. For example if there was a company that owned a

lumber mill, a lumber yard, and a couple forests, they could go under the group

certification to reduce costs so they can hold one certificate for all operations.

Normally you would need multiple certificates saying that each part of the

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operation is sustainable but under this clause, you would need only one

certificate.

Michigan Lumber Companies

Now that I have explained more about the Michigan forests and the certifications

out there for sustainable management, I would like to touch on the companies in

Michigan that are certified as sustainable. For a typical 2000 square foot home, it

takes about 13,000 board feet of framing lumber and 6200 square feet of OSB

Sheathing (Michigan Forest Facts, 2014). There is a lot of lumber that is used

that goes into building homes and if there is some way to decrease the impact

that the lumber companies have on the forests, we need to find ways now.

One company I found that is focused primarily on sustainability is called Plum

Creek. This is a national company but they do operate heavily in Michigan. They

provide recreational opportunities for residents by renting out land to those who

want to hunt, fish, or purely enjoy the land by camping. Plum creek is one of the

nation’s largest and most

geographically diverse private

landowners and safeguards more

than six million acres of land

(Working Forests, 2015). They are

owner to about 576,000 acres in

Michigan in 13 counties (Quick Facts,

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2015). Something that was rather alarming to me was that in the 576,000 acres

they own, only 6,900 are for conservation. I asked myself why would this be?

Maybe conservation means that they are keeping the land solely for no habitat

destruction or harvesting of trees. The types of trees in their forests are Maple,

Birch, Oak, Basswood, Aspen, Balsam, Hemlock, Pine, and Spruce (Quick Facts,

2015). The Plum Creek Foundation also provided $95,000 in financial support to

a variety of organizations in Michigan (Quick Facts, 2015). This shows that the

company is dedicated to giving back to the people. You can also say they are

integrating the triple bottom line into their business model by giving back to the

community while making a profit.

Not only does Plum Creek focus highly on conservation but also they are a big

sustainable forester. The company

partners with local and state governments to ensure they follow all Michigan

guidelines for forestry. They were the first company to receive the SFI

certification (Quick Facts, 2015). Plum Creek also focuses on reforestation rather

than just sustainable harvesting. In 2013, Plum Creek planted more than 290,000

seedlings in Michigan and more than 64 million nationwide (Quick Facts, 2015).

They currently sell half a million tons of forest biomass per year. Products

included are lumber, plywood, and medium density fiberboard. All these products

are sustainably forested material and are certified SFI products. Something I

noticed about Plum Creek is that they are a very transparent company. They

provide a bunch of information about their company and how they harvest their

Figure 4 Plum Creek Forests in Michigan

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products all the way down to the MSDS sheets for their products. This company

is 100% dedicated to the sustainability movement. By being transparent when it

comes to the products and how they operate their business, it can work to their

benefit. It will help them in the long run because people are able to look into

website or company and trust that they are running as sustainable operation. I

think this would be a great sustainable business model if I were a lumber

company in Michigan to follow.

Another lumber company that I found is a company called Biewer Lumber

Company. This company began about 50 years ago (Family of Companies).

Biewer Lumber is dedicated to providing the best products and services to their

customers that they can. Compared to the Plum Creek website, they are not SFI

certified but they chose the FSC chain of custody route. Biewer Lumber has been

running sustainable operations for about 20 years now (Why are we green, n.d).

As a just-in-time manufacturing company, Biewer Lumber does not keep a lot of

back stock in supply. The company makes all their products to order so they

don’t waste extra lumber material.

Biewer Lumber responsibly manages the whole lumber process. Biewer operates

sawmills in Michigan and Wisconsin. There are two Michigan mills and two in

Wisconsin (Sawmills, n.d). These sawmills are capable of producing more than

300 million board feet of dimensional lumber annually (Sawmills, n.d). To make

the process green, they use as

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much of the tree as they can. In the first step, they go through and choose trees

to be harvested instead of completely clear-cutting trees. This process they use

is called thinning. There are many overcrowded trees that are stressed and

competing with each other for nutrients, so by thinning out the trees, it allows for

a fully-grown tree in the end (Why are we green, n.d). All trees are then debarked

and the bark is used as fuel for the on-site boilers, which helps heat the kilns, or

sold as landscape mulch (Why are we green, n.d). By being a almost zero waste

company, this encourages contractors to build with this lumber because they

know that it is the best for the environment. There is a lot of quality material that

they produce also. Biewer Lumber specializes specifically in Red pine because

of the optimum appearance and the strength properties are ideal for construction

(Red Pine, n.d). It is also lighter after treatment, which helps minimize freight

costs to ship (Red Pine, n.d).

Like mentioned above with Plum Creek, the transparency of this company will

gain them a higher standing in the lumber industry. It will allow for customers to

trust the company in their product and know that they are not harming the

environment.

Conclusion

Deforestation and forest destruction is the second leading cause of carbon

pollution, causing 20% of total greenhouse gas emissions (Why Forests Matter).

If we do not protect our forests, then we will not have anything for future

generations to use. Although Michigan forests are growing at a rapid pace, it is

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very imperative that we still reforest and plant to make up for what we use.

Natural habitats for animals will be killed which will cause a decrease in wildlife in

the state. Not only will this happen but the recreation and leisure activities will

take a downfall. Michigan forests are a top producer of income for the state and

must remain that way.

As for the lumber industry, we must also follow the rules of sustainable business

and thinking when harvesting lumber for the construction industry. At 13,000

board feet used for a typical house and the housing market slowly increasing, we

can use up all the lumber that we have available. Lumber companies must follow

the transparency and the sustainable business model that Plum Creek Lumber

has put out lumber companies across the globe. We must be able to track where

our lumber has come from and if it was sustainably harvested or not. Whether it

is the Sustainable Forestry Initiative or the Forestry Stewardship Council, it is

very important to even take those first steps to set up the chain of custody

certification. Transparency and focus on the triple bottom line will allow

companies to gain more trust in their product. The sustainability in products must

start somewhere, so why not start with a seed.

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References:

Biewer Lumber. (n.d). Family of Companies. Retrieved from

http://www.biewerlumber.com/overview/

Biewer Lumber. (n.d). Why are we green. Retrieved from

http://www.biewerlumber.com/why-we-are-green/

Biewer Lumber. (n.d). Why Red Pine. Retrieved from

http://www.biewerlumber.com/why-red-pine/

Biewer Lumber. (n.d). Biewer Sawmills. Retrieved from

http://www.biewerlumber.com/why-red-pine/

Biewer Lumber (2015). FSC Certified Products. Retrieved from

http://www.biewerlumber.com/fsc-certified-products/

Detroit.com (n.d). Information about Hunting in Michigan. Retrieved from

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http://detroit.about.com/od/sportsrecreation/a/Information-About-

Hunters-In-Michigan.htm

DNR (2013). Michigan Deer Harvest Survey Report 2013 Seasons. Retrieved

from

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/MI_Deer_Harvest_Survey_2013_

459193_7.pdf

FSC (n.d). Mission and Vision. Retrieved from

https://us.fsc.org/mission-and-vision.187.htm

FSC (2015). FSC Facts. Retrieved from

https://us.fsc.org/facts-figures.219.htm

Lowe’s. Lowe’s Wood Policy. Retrieved from

http://www.lowes.com/cd_Lowes+Wood+Policy_545633779_

Michigan Department of Natural Resources (2015). Forest Products

Industry Overview. Retrieved from

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-30301_31023---,00.html

Michigan Forest (10/22/14). Michigan State Forest Total Timber Sales FY

1995-2014. Retrieved from

http://www.michiganforest.com/sites/default/files/resources/files/

2014%20State%20Forest%20Timber%20Sales.PDF

Michigan Forest Products Council (2014), Michigan Forest Products

Industry Snapshot. Retrieved from

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http://www.michiganforest.com/sites/default/files/resources/files/

2015%20Michigan%20Forest%20Products%20Industry%20Snapshot%20vs.

%202.pdf

Michigan Forest Products Council (2014). Sustainable Forestry Initiative-

Michigan. Retrieved from

http://www.michiganforest.com/resources/sustainable-forestry-

initiative-michigan

Michigan (2014). Snowmobiling. Retrieved from

http://www.michigan.org/snowmobiling/

NOAA.gov (n.d). About Our Great Lakes: Ecology. Retrieved from

http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pr/ourlakes/ecology.html

Pine Forest Lumber Company (n.d). About Us. Retrieved from

http://www.pflumber.com/about-us/

Plum Creek (2015). Sustainable Forest Management. Retrieved from

http://www.plumcreek.com/sustainability/environment-our-

commitments/sustainable-forest-management

Plum Creek (2015). Working Forests. Retrieved from

http://www.plumcreek.com/working-forests

Plum Creek (2015). Quick Facts. Retrieved from

http://www.plumcreek.com/PlumCreek/media/Library/PDFs/Resources/Fact-

Sheets/MI-Fact-Sheet.pdf?ext=.pdf

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SFI Michigan (2014). About Us. Retrieved from

http://sfimi.org/about

Statista (2013). Construction in the United States. Retrieved from

http://www.statista.com/topics/974/construction/

SFI Michigan (2014). Certification. Retrieved from

http://sfimi.org/about-certification

SFI (2014). Michigan Forest Facts. Retrieved from

http://michiganforest.com/facts

SFI Standard 2015-2019 (2015). SFI Standard. Retrieved from

http://www.sfiprogram.org/sfi-standard/

SFI (2015). Basics of SFI. Retrieved from

http://www.sfiprogram.org/about-us/basics-of-sfi/

USGBC (n.d). USGBC History. Retrieved from

http://www.usgbc.org/about/history

Wikipedia (n.d). Sustainable Business. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_business