Geysir directly works with mills that are members of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and other environmentally concerned organizations.

LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Geysir offers many floors that provide points for a LEED structure.
RECLAIMED FLOORS – available in many various species
Bamboo
Cork
Engineered floors that are FSC Certified
FSC certified solid wood floors (available in certain species)

We exclusively offer the newest and advanced environmentally friendly flooring products:
WATERBORNE FINISHES – healthy, fast, Durable, Beautiful
LOW VOC (volatile organic compounds) OIL POLY FINISHES
DUSTLESS CONTAINMENT SYSTEMS – GREENGUARD CERTIFIED

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The Facts – Where Stand Today – Forests in the U.S.
Background History on Forests, Timber Trade and Forest Management

(References: Powell, Douglas S. 1993. Forest Resources of the United States,1992. USDA Forest Service; USDA Forest Service. 1999. Resource Planning Act Assessment Database Retrieval System; American Forest and Paper Association. 1995. U.S. Forest Facts and Figures; Probst, John R. 1991. Integrating diversity in resource management. Journal of Forestry, February.; Canadian Wood Council. 1994. Technical Bulletin No. 2: Environmental Effects of Building Materials.)

Where we find our domestic floors:
Hardwoods are most abundant east of the Mississippi
Mixed Hardwood and pine are primarily found in the Southeastern U.S. –
Fast growing trees = vast amounts of timber

Forest Industry and Development:
14.4% of the United States is forestland
70% of the forestland here today was here in 1600
737 million acres
Forest volume increases 5.27 billion cubic feet annually
even after harvests and mortality
There is 82% more hardwood growing stock today than in 1952
15% of hardwoods harvested are dead
Each year, 6 trees are planted for one harvested
274 million acres of forestland are wilderness
no forest management – no roads, no boats, no bikes, etc.

Forest Management:
Enhance biodiversity – enforce a mosaic of forest types and age classes across landacape
Trained to determine when and how trees should be harvested, ensuring that forests are healthy and productive
Selective cutting – overstory trees, dead trees
Allowing sunlight to reach forest floor promoting new growth
Promoting the growth of smaller pockets of regeneration

Forest Products Industry:
Committed to sustainable forest management
Following guidelines and policies of:
>Standards of American Forest and Paper Associations Sustainable Forest Initiative
>National Hardwood Lumber Associations Sustainable Forest Policy

Wood Floors/Products:
*Recyclable, Biodegradable, durable
*47% of all industrial raw materials are wood
4% of the total energy used for industrial raw materials is used for wood

Wood in Comparison to Other Building Products:
Producing steel building materials consumes 3 times as much as energy as wood building materials and 16 times as much clean water
Manufacturing steel produces 3 1/2 times as much carbon dioxice as manufacturing wood
Wood is 16 times more efficient as an insulator than concrete,
415 times more efficient than steel,
2000 times more efficient than aluminum

TIMBER HARVESTING = WELL MANAGED FORESTS = BENEFITING PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE SPECIES

GEYSIR INTERNATIONAL WOODS

(References: IHPA – The International Wood Products Association, GREENPEACE, and Smart Wood)

The Facts about Tropical Deforestation:
Major cause of deforestation – political turmoil, poverty, population pressures, shifting agriculture
Forestry is responsible for approximately 6% of tropical forest depletion
Study commissioned by GREENPEACE, in Germany
17% of tropical wood production is used for industrial purposes
The remainder is utilized for energy
81.5% of the wood uses for industrial purposes is consumed in those countries
4% of the total international market is U.S. imports of the tropical wood products

U.S. role in Tropical Deforestation is a Small Part of the Problem, but a Large Part of the Solution:
A significant portion of the profit from tropical forestry, returns back to the countries to address the causes of many of their problems as a country:
Poverty, population pressures, etc.
A thriving international market for wood products creates a larger incentive to carefully and responsibly manage them.
Bans and boycotts are counterproductive – Reduce value of forested land and remove incentive to manage them

Geysir supports responsible forest management: Geysir’s supplier of international wood is Smart Wood Certified:
Smart Wood Certification applies to lumber from trees harvested on certified forestry operations
Smart Wood approval proves to customers their commitment in promoting environmentally friendly forest products
The Smart Wood seal is accredited by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)
FSC – monitoring organization for certification of forests, forest products, and forest product manufacturing facilities
Smart Wood is the oldest and most experienced forestry certification program