Page 20 - Green Builder May-June 2018 Issue

THE EVOLVING ROLE OF ASSOCIATIONS

AWC (American Wood Council)

What’s possible with wood? AWC helps people find out.

HE AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL (AWC) is the voice of the North American wood products
industry and works to ensure a resilient and sustainably built environment. AWC’s experts make
certain that the buildings in which everyone lives and work are safe, and demonstrate that wood
products can safely and efficiently meet or exceed the minimum requirements for use. AWC is
committed to not only what is permissible using wood, but also to what is possible using wood.
The philosophy is simple: With the global marketplace for sustainability materials estimated
to reach $529 billion by 2020, securing a strong place for wood is essential to the wood products
T industry’s future growth. That means telling the positive story of wood’s renewable, energy
efficient advantages, as well as defending against anti-wood bias in rating systems. Strong, unified industry
support is essential as the sustainability battlefield continues to spread from the state to the federal level.
AWC notes that more attention is being paid than ever before
“As population increases and to how buildings impact the environment, including the choices of
resources are constrained, we materials used in construction and how those materials help conserve FACTS
energy during operation. Wood is the perfect sustainability material
must find safe, carbon-neutral because it is renewable, stores carbon that reduces greenhouse gases, NUMBER OF MEMBERS: 50 member
and sustainable alternatives to and is energy efficient. Winning acceptance for wood is a challenge, companies, or 86 percent of the structural
existing structural materials. however, as competing materials and certain environmental groups wood products industry
seek to control the U.S. sustainability market.
Wood—one of the most energy AWC is at the same time one of the youngest and one of the oldest MEMBER BREAKDOWN: Design CREDIT: JAMES LOESCH/FLICKR
efficient and environmentally major trade groups in the nation. While its lineage dates back to Professional Members are 90 percent
1902, AWC was re-chartered in June 2010 as an independent trade
engineers, 2 percent architects and
friendly of all building association, evolving from a number of predecessor groups. 8 percent other (builders/manufacturers/
materials—is that The council contributes to the development of sound public professors). There are also 3,500 code
alternative. Wood products policies, codes and regulations which allow for the appropriate and officials in AWC’s Code Connections
program.
responsible manufacture and use of wood products. It supports
store carbon, keeping it out of the utilization of wood products by developing and disseminating HEADQUARTERS: Leesburg, Va.
the atmosphere indefinitely, consensus standards, comprehensive technical guidelines, and tools

thereby reducing a building’s for wood design and construction, as well as providing education WEBSITE: www.awc.org ROLE MODELS
regarding their application.
environmental footprint.” NUMBER OF ACTIVE SITES: Washington,
D.C., California, Colorado, Idaho,
Robert Glowinski, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, southern

AWC President and CEO Virginia and Wisconsin
KEY SERVICES OFFERED: Development
of public policies, codes and regulations;
provide online and live contact training to
educate users and support implementation
of building codes and standards for wood
design.

MISSION STATEMENT: AWC is
committed to ensuring a resilient, safe
and sustainable built environment. AWC
supports the utilization of wood products
by developing and disseminating consensus
standards, comprehensive technical
guidelines, and tools for wood design and
construction, as well as providing education
regarding their application.

18 GREEN BUILDER May/June 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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