Fairwood News 2010
- July 29, 2010
- Major Housing Companies Recognize Certification Timber
- June 1, 2010
- Café in Akihabara will use “reuse” wood for renovation
- May 31, 2010
- COSMOS INITIA Co.,Ltd. developed an environmental concept for construction of condominiums and houses
- May 31, 2010
- Panasonic, together with two of their group companies developed common guideline for wood procurement for biodiversity conservation
- May 26, 2010
- Forestry Agency: Law concerning the promotion of the use of wood such as public buildings" was approved
- Feb 5, 2010
- Ministry of the Environment: "Carbon Offset Certification Labels" Introduced to Promoting Green Purchasing Law
- Feb 2, 2010
- Environmental Protection PR: Commercialization of Floor Material that was certified by Forest Stewardship Council / Nankai-Plywood
- Feb 1, 2010
- The Oji Paper Company Ltd. expands tree plantation projects, intending to ensure stable supply of wood chips.
- Jan 27, 2010
- WOOD ONE CO., LTD. 8 branches are certified by The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for the Controlled wood and COC
- Jan 29, 2010
- Toyota obtained a third-party certification for a tree-planting project in the Philippines
Major Housing Companies Recognize Certified Timber
[July 29, 2010: Japan Forest Products Journal] There are prominent signs that major housing companies are setting guidelines for wood procurement and more companies are including forest certification system into their guideline as a part of evaluation items.
Lumber Newspaper has conducted a questionnaires survey, targeting major housing companies about the status of use of “forest certification lumber”.
According to the survey result as well as additional interviews, 9 companies have developed the guidelines for wood procurement and companies that have not developed up the guideline yet are likely to do so in the near future. These 9 housing companies which have the procurement guidelines are: Sumitomo Forestry, Daiwa House Industry, Ichijo, Mitsubishi Estate Home, Tokyu Homes, Leopalace21, Sekisui House, MisawaHomes, and PanaHome.
In the case with major housing companies, the environmental NGOs have played an important role in development process of the guideline. The companies are largely divided into two categories. One category is to adopt procurement guideline to lessen a burden on the environment by phased approach, starting with identifying production areas, and then eliminating illegally logged lumber, and application of forest certification lumber. Another category uses the standard set by the Japanese timber industry, such as GOHO(legal) wood or domestic lumber.
Café in Akihabara will use “reuse” wood for renovation
[June 1, 2010: Akihabara Economic Newspaper] -
Tobimushi Co., Ltd. will be in charge of renovation of a café “Akihabara Culture Café Shatsukisute” in June. Tobimushi aims to "link the local forest with an urban city." One project is to utilize “reuse” wood in offices and shops in Akihabara and Kanda areas of Tokyo.
Original article in Japanese
http://akiba.keizai.biz/headline/1970/
COSMOS INITIA Co.,Ltd. developed an environmental concept for construction of condominiums and houses
[May 31, 2010] - COSMOS INITIA Co., Ltd., an real estate company has developed an environmental concept ”INITIA GREEN” to respond to environmental issues.
COSMOS INITIA will apply this concept as a first case to two of their condominiums in Nerima-ku, Tokyo which will be on sale starting July, 2010.
Original article in Japanese
http://www.cigr.co.jp/cosmosinfo/news/2010/news208.html
Panasonic, together with two of their group companies developed common guideline for wood procurement for biodiversity conservation
[May 31, 2010] -
Panasonic Corporation, Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd, and PanaHome Corporation developed the common procurement guideline "Panasonic wood green procurement guideline" with an aim to consider biodiversity in procurement of wood. With this guideline, they will categorize wood that they procure into “wood to prioritize”, “wood that meet the guideline,” and “wood to exclude,” and aim to reduce procurement of wood which do not meet their guideline. They will exchange information with suppliers regularly, and will verify the effect of the guideline. Based on the result achieved by this guideline, they intend to create numerical target in the future.
Original article in Japanese
http://www.nikkan.co.jp/news/nkx0920100531caag.html
Forestry Agency: Law concerning the promotion of the use of wood such as public buildings" was approved
[May 26, 2010: The Forestry Agency] - "Law concerning the promotion of the use of wood such as public buildings" (No.36 of the law in 2010) was approved in the 174th regular session of the Diet, and it was promulgated on May 26.
The aim of this law is to expand the demand for wood by promoting use of wood in building construction. The central government will promote the use of wood in public buildings which currently hold low rate of wood use. And this will urge local governments and private sector to use wood for buildings, including housing.
Original article in Japanese
http://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/j/riyou/koukyou/index.html
Ministry of the Environment: "Carbon Offset Certification
Labels" Introduced to Promoting Green Purchasing Law
[Feb 5, 2010 : MoE] - The Japanese Cabinet today approved amendments
to the "basic policy for the procurement of eco-friendly goods,
etc." based on the provision in Article 6, Section 1 of the "Law
Concerning the Promotion of Procurement of Eco-Friendly Goods and
Services by the State and Other Entities (Law on Promoting Green Purchasing)."
Designated procurement items and evaluation criteria for them are
reviewed every fiscal year to further encourage a shift in demands
towards such goods as those contributing to reduction of environmental
impact.
The amendments include the addition of 11 items, elimination of 1
item and revision of the criteria for 52 items, making the total number
of the items 256 in 19 industries. The amendments also include the
addition of Carbon Offset Certification Labels to "3. Other Important
Matters Regarding Green Purchasing" of the basic policy, as goods
which will contribute to reduction of environmental impact.
News source (Japanese)
http://www.env.go.jp/policy/hozen/green/g-law/kihonhoushin.html
Environmental Protection PR: Commercialization
of Floor Material that was certified by Forest Stewardship Council
/ Nankai-Plywood
[Feb 2, 2010 : Shikoku Newspaper Co.] - Nankai-Plywood announced the
commercialization of flooring materials that are ecologically sustainable.
They have received an international certification from the Forest
Stewardship Council. These products should be on the market in April.
In addition this company has earned the following certifications by
January 21st; 1) purchasing and safekeeping of plywood that was certified
by the Forest Stewardship Council and 2) manufacturing and selling
of floor material that uses certified plywood. It will be labeled
as “Artfloor LIP Original Series” six millimeter thick floor material.
This is made by certified plywood covered with a cleaning tissue,
and it has characteristics of high durability and usefulness for renovation.
The price is about seven to ten percent higher than former products.
News source (Japanese)
http://www.shikoku-np.co.jp/kagawa_news/economy/article.aspx?id=20100203000088
The Oji Paper Company Ltd. expands tree plantation
projects, intending to ensure stable supply of wood chips.
[Feb 1, 2010 : Sankei] - the Oji Paper Company Limited announced that
it will expand its tree plantation projects to five southern provinces
of Laos. It will establish a local subsidiary this month and plant
300,000 ha of trees, intending to ensure stable supply of wood chips
to serve wood pulp.
From 90s the company started overseas plantations and has already
planted some 200,000 ha in seven countries such as Australia, Vietnam,
and China. In Laos, the plantation was started at the southern region
from 2005 and the planted area reached 25,000 ha. This time the company
plans planting acacia and eucalyptus, which are fast-growing, to five
southern provinces in Laos such as Champassack over 40 years. The
planned area is 25,000 ha and has been devastated by burn agriculture.
It will also conduct 5,000 ha of “farmer plantations” by providing
nursery trees to local residents and purchasing the grown trees.
News source (Japanese)
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/economy/business/100201/biz1002011703018-n1.htm
WOOD ONE CO., LTD. 8 branches are certified by
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for the Controlled wood and COC
[Jan 27, 2010 : Nikkei] - WOOD ONE CO., LTD. acquired the forest certification
that showed the use of the wood logged in the properly managed forest.
They begin to ship the certificated products of doors or flooring
materials and so on from April. Also, government agencies or major
home manufacturers give support to be spread the moving for adopting
the proper timber goods that notes environmental protection, and adjust
the system of the shipment for enhancement of competitiveness.
Four domestic factories and four overseas branches on Shanghai in
China or Philippines of WOOD ONE CO., LTD., acquired the certification
from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the international third
party until the middle of this month. WOOD ONE CO., LTD.'s group companies
manage the forest of 68,000 hectares in New Zealand and established
the system which supplied the proper timber from the forest management
the construction timber or the distribution by themselves.
News source (Japanese)
http://www.nikkei.co.jp/news/retto/20100126c6b2601t26.html
WOOD ONE's website (Japanese)
http://www.woodone.co.jp/fsc/index.html
Toyota obtained a third-party certification for
a tree-planting project in the Philippines
[Jan 29, 2010 : Asahi] - Toyota Motor Corporation announces that on
December 20, 2009, its tree-planting project in the town of Penablanca
(about 500 km north of Manila), Cagayan province in the north of the
island of Luzon, Philippines obtained a gold rating of CCB standards*.
This project has was begun in September 2007,
Evaluating that this certification proved the quality of the planning
and the project steadily achieved successful results, Toyota has decided
to carry out the second stage of the project for three years from
August 2010 to July 2013.
*CCB standards : The Climate, Community and Biodiversity Project Design
Standards
News source (Japanese)
http://www.asahi.com/business/pressrelease/JCN201001290007.html
Press release on the Toyota's website (English)
http://www2.toyota.co.jp/en/news/10/01/0129.html