ST. LOUIS, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Wood Flooring Association has announced that it has formed the Forest Stewardship Council Procurement Group, whose mission is to explore, review and develop systems for private landowners to adopt FSC certification.

FSC certification offers the highest assurance of environmental and social performance in the forest products industry. Demand for FSC-certified wood has increased dramatically during the past few years based on increasing consumer desire for environmentally responsible building products.

In the United States, approximately 270 million acres of working forest are owned by small woodland owners, but only 2.5 million acres are certified to FSC standards. The FSC Procurement Group will work to remove the barriers to FSC certification, and increase the amount of FSC wood available in the US.

In addition to the NWFA, several prominent environmental groups have joined this effort. They include the Rainforest Alliance, Domtar, FSC Family Forest Alliance, Scientific Certification Systems, the Tropical Forest Trust, and the Nature Conservancy. This is the first time these environmental groups have joined forces with an industry trade association to promote the same effort.

The FSC Procurement Group was formed as part of the NWFA's Responsible Procurement Program, which recognizes wood flooring companies that work to sustain our world's forests. The program is supported by the Forest Stewardship Council-US and the FSC Family Forests Alliance, which recognize the NWFA RPP as a valid incremental approach toward socially and environmentally responsible forestry.

For more information about the Responsible Procurement Program, or the green benefits of wood flooring, contact the NWFA.

The National Wood Flooring Association is a non-profit trade organization, with more than 3,500 members world-wide, dedicated to educating consumers, architects, designers, specifiers and builders in the uses and benefits of wood flooring. NWFA members receive the best in educational training, benefits, technical resources and networking, to advance their professionalism and success. The NWFA is located at 111 Chesterfield Industrial Boulevard, Chesterfield, MO 63005, and can be contacted at 1-800-422-4556, or online at www.nwfa.org.

SOURCE National Wood Flooring Association

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