In the world of green, wood, by and large, is considered one of the more environmentally friendly products out there: It’s renewable, can last for generations, can be repurposed into something else and contributes to the overall health of the planet—both in a living and decaying stage.

Despite all its positive environmental attributes, illegal logging here and abroad, mismanaged forests and unfriendly environmental manufacturing processes have force governments and non-government agencies and organizations to put forth numerous regulation and rules surrounding the material—from laws, such as the Lacey Act and California’s CARB to standards like the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGNC) LEED rating system and third-party certifications such as from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)—in order to ensure the product is not only available for generations to come but is safe to bring into home and offices environments.

And while most people agree the various rules and regulations are beneficial to wood’s long-term viability like anything else, they are not without their share of controversy and confusion.

One of the biggest areas of contention, currently, is with USGBC trying to publish a new, revised version of LEED, known as LEED v4. Originally scheduled to be finalized and in use this year, the organization pushed back the new standard until June 2013 in order to undertake a fifth public comment period which begins Oct. 2 and runs through Dec. 10.

A key reason for this delay has to do with proposals to alter the program’s certified wood credit, which is currently based only on the use of FSC-certified wood.

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