Wood First commitments in 40 local governments in B.C.

British Columbia’s Wood Enterprise Coalition (WEC) today congratulated Regional District of Kootenay Boundary on the passage of its new Wood First Resolution in support of the province’s Wood First Act – making it the 40th local government in BC to pass a Wood First commitment.

The Wood Enterprise Coalition is a partnership of:

• Wood WORKS! BC
• BC Wood
• FPInnovations

The Wood First Act, passed by the BC government in 2009, aims to increase demand for wood products by requiring provincially-funded projects to use wood where suitable and supported by the BC Building Code.

BC Communities with Wood First initiatives

Communities with Wood First commitments range from the largest centre, the City of Surrey to the smallest – the village of Port Clements on the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities

• Campbell River
• Gibsons
• North Cowichan
• Port Alberni
• Port Hardy
• Sechelt

Kootenay Boundary

• Castlegar
• Cranbrook
• Fruitvale
• Grand Forks
• Kaslo
• Midway
• Nakusp
• RD Kootenay Boundary

North Central

• 100 Mile House
• Cariboo RD
• Chetwynd
• Fort St. James
• Hazelton
• Houston
• Port Clements
• Prince George
• Queen Charlotte
• Quesnel
• Taylor
• Terrace
• Williams Lake

Southern Interior

• Armstrong
• Chase
• Columbia Shuswap RD
• Enderby
• Kelowna
• Lumby
• Merritt
• North Okanagan RD
• Princeton
• Revelstoke
• Spallumcheen

Lower Mainland

• Squamish
• Surrey

Werner Hofstätter, the Wood First Advisor for Wood WORKS! BC and WEC, explained the benefits of a community adopting a Wood First commitment. “When passing a resolution or bylaw, a community benefits by having what are essentially guiding principles for use by designers, engineers and contractors,” explained Mr. Hofstätter. “A resolution also underlines a community’s desire for maximum use of wood in civic projects, which ultimately builds current and future prosperity for citizens by stimulating local wood industries and increasing local jobs.”

Wood WORKS! is a national industry-led initiative of the Canadian Wood Council, with a goal to support innovation and provide leadership on the use of wood and wood products. Through workshops, seminars and case studies, Wood WORKS! provides education, training and technical expertise to building and design professionals involved with commercial, institutional and industrial construction projects throughout BC. BC Wood is a not-for-profit trade association dedicated to growing British Columbia’s secondary wood products manufacturing industry. FPInnovations works towards optimizing the forest sector value chain, developing new products and market opportunities within a framework of environmental sustainability.