ST. LOUIS, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Wood Flooring Association has announced that it is introducing a new Environmental Craftsmanship Award to recognize professionally installed wood floors that exhibit creative and responsible environmental stewardship in their methods of installation, raw material sourcing, and/or contributions to human well being in the indoor built environment. The contest is open to any professional wood flooring company and there is no entry fee. Wood floors entered into the contest will be evaluated based on a number of environmental criteria. General environmental attributes include using reclaimed or recycled materials, renovating existing floors, and maximizing the yield from the raw materials used. Other criteria include U.S. Lacey Act documentation for imported wood species, which verifies that the wood used is logged legally, and United States Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) documentation for green building certification, which verifies environmentally responsible building practices. The contest also recognizes the NWFA's Responsible Procurement Program, which promotes environmentally and socially responsible forest management, as well as other environmental certification programs including GREENGUARD, the Sustainable Forest Initiative, Tree Farm, and the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification. Judging will be conducted by the environmental design community, with the winner being announced during the NWFA's 2010 Convention in Washington, DC. The deadline for entries is February 19, 2010. For more information, or an entry form, visit www.nwfa.org, and click on the Convention & Expo link.
