HomeNWFA Responsible Procurement Program (RPP)

NWFA Responsible Procurement Program (RPP)

The National Wood Flooring Association's Responsible Procurement Program (RPP) is a joint initiative between leading environmental groups and industry manufacturers committed to producing and promoting wood floors that come only from environmentally and socially responsible sources, improving forest sustainability for future generations.

To accomplish this, the RPP has been designed to:

• Enable participating companies to exercise environmental responsibility in their procurement process
• Demonstrate improvement over time “transitional to higher levels of environmental and social responsibility” as articulated by the Forest Stewardship Council
• Provide options for exercising due care under the U.S. Lacey Act
• Provide RPP participants with effective marketing support including use of a program logo

Key Elements of the Program

The RPP is:

• Open to all companies who wish to participate
• Voluntary
• Transparent
• Intended to bring about real change in the wood products trade
• Verified through independent third-party auditing

The RPP was conceived by the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) in conjunction with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), Forest Stewardship Council U.S (FSC), and the Rainforest Alliance TREES US Program.

The RPP entails a commitment to continuous progress within the RPP framework, as measured by increased sales of products approved by the program. The RPP provides progressive “tiers” that act like rungs on a ladder on which participants move gradually upward toward ever-higher levels of social and environmental performance.

Congratulations to the following companies who are certified under the RPP:

• Anderson Hardwood Floors
• Mannington Hardwood Floors
• Mullican Flooring
• Shaw Floors
• Sheoga Hardwood Flooring & Paneling

Is your company interested in joining the RPP? Get more information!

Once you have joined the RPP, NWFA has prepared a toolkit to help you implement the process.

RPP in the News

• Hardwood Floors Magazine: "NWFA Releases Forest Certification Tool Kits": October 14, 2011
• Floor Covering Installer: "NWFA Revises Responsible Procurement Program Certification Process": October 12, 2011
• Floor Daily: "NWFA Aids in Certification of 12,000 FSC Acres": October 13, 2011
• NWFA Press Release: "NWFA's FSC Procurement Group Secures 12,000 Certifed Acres"
• NWFA Press Release: "NWFA's Responsible Procurement Program Now Features Customized Entry Support"

View the Power Point slides from the RPP relaunch presentation on September 7, 2011.

Check out the FSC Toolkit for Hardwood Sawmills

NWFA RPP GoverningBoard

Don Finkell, Chairman
Anderson Hardwood Floors

Peter Connor, NWFA Board Liaison
WD Flooring

Corey Brinkema
FSC-US

Jason Grant
Jason Grant Consulting

Rick Holden
Derr Flooring Co.

Robert Hrubes
Scientific Certification Systems, Inc.

Neil Poland
Mullican Flooring

For further information concerning the Licensing Agreements, please contact Michael Martin, NWFA CEO.

To view a licensing agreement to participate in the RPP, click here.