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Boise Adopts Green Policy

Boise has vowed to stop buying wood from "endangered" forests, and received certification of its Northwest fi ber procurement operations.

Boise agreed to eliminate the purchase of wood products from areas that have been "identified and mapped" by conservation groups, such as the Rainforest Action Network. Next year, the company will stop cutting timber from old growth forests in the U.S., as well as Chile, Indonesia, and Canada's boreal forests.

In the meantime, Boise said it will also start encouraging its suppliers to do the same by giving purchasing preference to those that provide paper and wood products from independent- ly certified and healthy managed forests. The company plans to track the source ofpaper and wood products it receives to help enforce the new pollcy.

Boise said its actions make it "the first U.S. forest products company to adopt a comprehensive environmental statement and the first distributor of wood and paper products to extend an environmental policy to its suppliers."

This move comes at the same the company is seeking to buy the OfficeMax Inc. superstore chain for about $1.15 billion in cash and stock. However, Boise officials said the timing is a coincidence.

There is speculation that Boise may have been losing business due to its previous refusal to avoid all endangered forests. Activists estimate up to two dozen corporate and academic customers dropped contracts with the company over the past two years, including copy company Kinko's.

"We decided we ought to make sure what we are doing is aligned with what our customers are doing," said John Bender. Boise's senior v.p.building solutions.

In addition, Boise's Western Oregon fiber procurement operations were certified by Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP through an independent, third-party audit. The audit also recertified Boise's forest management practices on more than 300,000 acres of its timberland.

Builders Prefer Wood Panels

When using structural panels in home construction, builders overwhelmingly prefer engineered wood products, such as OSB and plywood, according to a new survey.

A Forintek Canada Corp. study indicated builders are continually satisified with the two types of wood products in single-family residential construction. Builders gave wood structural panels a high satisfaction rating and reported they use them 80% of the time.

An initial report based on research detailed the residential construction industry's current demand for wall product, product usage and possible future use in prefabricated building. The primary concern of builders was that the wall be straight and square, followed by on-site concerns, such as speed of assembly, ease of handling, and level of waste.

The researchers concluded panelized walls represent I8Vo of the singlefamily construction market share in the U.S., and more than 407o of builders have tried panelized walls, suggesting there is a growth market for them in single-family residential construction, based on demographic forecasts of qualified labor shortages and probable consolidation of residential builders.