Sustainability is concerned with the input/output demands placed upon the environment by people and commerce, and whether these demands can be met without reducing the carrying capacity of the environment, so that it can provide for future generations.

Second Wind Timber is committed to sustainability. We painstakingly work through the projects to dismantle and save timber.  We also work with innovative architects and designers who are working to achieve the goals of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). LEED is a Green Building Rating System. At this point it is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high performance, sustainable buildings. Many municipalities are adopting these standards so that are communities are truly sustainable. Reusing building materials is just one aspect of LEED. We have included a link if you would like to learn more about incorporating sustainable practices into your project.

Using reclaimed old growth timber reduces the pressure to continue to harvest the limited amount of old growth forests that exist on the planet. Most reclaimed wood was harvested at a time when the forests were thought to be eternal. The existence of old growth forests are in fact finite, and should be preserved for future generations. We are preserving this rare wood for another generation to enjoy and use.

 

	LEED	www.usgbc.org
	WWF	www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/forests/index.cfm
	Forest Stewardship Council	www.fsc.org/en/
	Sustainability Now	www.sustainability.ca
	Western Canada Wilderness Committee	www.wildernesscommittee.org/campaigns/rainforest/

 

Recommended Reads:

1. The Ecology of Commerce,  Paul Hawken, Harper Business
2. A Green History of the World, Clive Ponting, Penguin Book