USFS Chief Tidwell, Michael Green headline tall wood panel

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Wood Council (AWC) is shining a spotlight on the merits of mass timber construction, the carbon benefits provided by these green buildings, and the positive economic impacts they generate.

Watch the video here: http://awc.org/nfpw

AWC joined with reThink Wood to host an "Urban Sustainability, Rural Prosperity" panel discussion at the National Press Club during National Forest Products Week. The panel was moderated by AWC President and CEO Robert Glowinski and featured:

• U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, on the agency's efforts to promote renewable wood products and the U.S. Tall Wood Building Prize Competition;
• Michael Green of Michael Green Architecture, on changing perceptions of tall wood buildings;
• Dr. Jim Bowyer, a consultant for Dovetail Partners, Inc. and President of Bowyer & Associates, Inc., on the carbon sequestration properties of wood products; and
• Kathleen Sims, Vice President of Government Relations for Plum Creek Timber Company, on what some cities are doing to lead the way on tall wood buildings and the path to build more.

"It is our hope that this discussion will lead to new insights that can be used in designing buildings and planning communities," Glowinski said. "Designing and constructing modern 21^st century buildings with their environmental impact in mind is the kind of long-term thinking the American Wood Council celebrates."

The Softwood Lumber Board CEO Steve Lovett started the conversation by discussing the recent winners of the U.S. Tall Wood Building Prize Competition. WoodWorks Executive Director Jennifer Cover also gave brief remarks on the available resources for the building design community for the design and construction of non-residential and multi-family wood buildings.

The panel discussion was also supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, American Forest Foundation and Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

The American Wood Council (AWC) is the voice of North American wood products manufacturing, representing over 75 percent of an industry that provides approximately 400,000 men and women in the United States with family-wage jobs. AWC members make products that are essential to everyday life from a renewable resource that absorbs and sequesters carbon. Staff experts develop state-of-the-art engineering data, technology, and standards for wood products to assure their safe and efficient design, as well as provide information on wood design, green building, and environmental regulations.

SOURCE American Wood Council

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