When creating architectural projects, wood provides the look and feel to transform a drawing and a dream into a stunning yet useful contribution to a city or community. But beyond the look and feel wood brings to a project, increasingly specifiers also want assurance the products they choose have been sourced legally and sustainably.
In order to meet this need, in 2016 the International Wood Products Association partnered with the World Resources Institute, utilizing funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, to develop a Wood Trade Compliance Training course. Now, seven years after the first course, IWPA continues to invest time and resources to create a training program that is constantly evolving to assist companies in navigating an increasingly complicated trade environment and to better meet their customers’ sophisticated needs.
The course was created to help the wood industry develop the knowledge and processes required to conduct trade properly under the Lacey Act, the U.S. law that combats trafficking of illegally taken wildlife, fish, or plants, as well as similar laws that have been enacted in other countries around the globe. Based on feedback from industry members, policymakers, and civil society groups, IWPA expanded its “by industry, for industry” training model to new and more in-depth courses, covering topics such as Formaldehyde Emissions Regulations, and an Advanced Supply Chain Management.
This year, in order to get critical knowledge in the hands of professionals in the most flexible manner possible, IWPA introduced new On-Demand online courses. These courses are arranged in “paths,” allowing professionals to fit the complex material into their busy schedules. As of summer 2023, paths are available covering Forestry, compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and Solid Wood Flooring. Additional On-Demand paths on Lacey compliance, Wood Science, and All Flooring are currently in development.
Elizabeth Baldwin, Environmental Compliance Officer at Metropolitan Hardwood Floors and the lead content creator and instructor of the courses, moved heaven and earth to develop IWPA’s training program into what it is today, and has recently worked with other industry volunteers to revise the courses to better fit into an overarching program.
“I really like how the new material builds logically and shows how a wide variety of compliance issues are interlinked and how risk assessment on one topic supports your activity in other areas,” said Baldwin. “People are happy to discover compliance activities can have pragmatic business benefits in quality control and supplier relationships.”
In May, IWPA Executive Director Ashley Amidon was joined by seven other industry professionals as course instructors for the first time since joining IWPA in 2022. “I love the camaraderie that I saw develop,” said Amidon. “Participants clearly appreciate knowing they aren’t alone in the challenges they face meeting customer needs, and the interactivity and group discussion are such a strength of the program. Every class is different as people bring their own frustrations and successes to the group.”
The market is ever more focused on seeking suppliers with the knowledge and expertise to procure and deliver wood products that are not only beautiful, but utilize the highest standards of due care. The time and effort IWPA members apply to improving their knowledge creates a rare win-win-win proposition that benefits the customer, the supplier, and most significantly, the long-term health of forests around the world.
Learn More About IWPA’s Wood Compliance Training Courses.