Hardwoods Specialty Products and The Environment
For more than seven decades our business has relied on the sustainability of the forest products industry. Our business is built around a renewable and recyclable resource and we recognize that as one of North Americas largest hardwood wholesale distributors, we have an obligation to minimize our impact by making the environment an ongoing component of our business decisions. Sustainability isn’t just a marketing gimmick; it is a practice that ensures the future of our business.
That is why every distribution center at Hardwoods Specialty Products has been certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council for Chain of Custody. FSC guarantees the integrity of the supply chain for these certified products and insures that these products have been harvested from forests that meet stringent environmental, social and economic standards or are from verified recycled sources.
We are also members of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC), supporting green building initiatives through accredited programs such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®). This program is active in 30 countries around the world and has rapidly become the most widely used standard in certifying green construction.
In Practice
Hardwoods is reducing the environmental impact of our operations through waste prevention. Both paper and aluminum recycling programs are standard practice in each of our locations, as well as electronic invoicing, reducing our requirement for paper and the use of fossil fuel in the delivery of those invoices. Our distribution centers only purchase consumable paper products made from post consumer, recycled or FSC fiber, and all cardboard cover sheets are made from 100% recycled cardboard.
In 2008 we removed all full size sport utility vehicles from our company vehicle selector and incorporate 6 different Hybrid models along with other smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. This will ensure cleaner, more efficient transportation for our sales and management team.
We have also begun an evaluation of our warehouse lighting and have converted some of our facilities to energy-saving fluorescent lighting.
Products and Suppliers
We are constantly striving to add new environmentally responsible materials to our product offerings.
We know that the strength of our green product line is only as environmental as our supply chain. Therefore we look for vendors whose products have been certified through a third party. Many of our vendors are certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), the Composite Panel Association’s Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP), the Program for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification (PEFC), and ISO 14001 for environmental management, as well as by the California Air Resource Board (CARB) for composite wood product emissions.
Social Responsibility
Global and local communities vastly benefit from well managed forests, and we understand that the decisions we make in how we conduct our business and where we source products, also implies a social and economic responsibility to the people and communities that live in those regions. For this reason, we ask that our foreign manufacturers supply us a statement of compliance with all government regulations regarding fair wages and labor unions’ rights to collective bargaining, as well as contribute to the laborer’s social insurance benefit programs as enforced by their local governments.
We are also members of the Customs Trade Partnership against Terrorism (CTPAT) program. This voluntary program, developed by US Customs and Border Protection, helps to ensure safe and secure transportation and delivery of goods through our foreign supply chain.
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