For carpenters, protecting the environment and ensuring safe and healthy forests isn’t some casual concern. It goes right to the heart of our livelihood. Sound “sustainability” isn’t just a cliche to us. Our jobs and the future of our industry depend on smart policies that defend and promote strong and sustainable wood products.

That’s why our members are so concerned about the New York City Council’s effort to amend “green building” standards for certain capital projects (Int. 324-A). The bill would not only jeopardize thousands of jobs in the city, it would slam into reverse a whole set of policies that have promoted smart sustainability. In fact, the council measure discriminates against the very thing it claims to protect: environmentally friendly wood and wood products.

Here’s what too few council members appreciate: The bill weakens environmental safeguards by promoting building products and materials that are significantly less “green,” such as steel and other man-made materials. It would undermine the real progress made in New York City in recent years by people dedicated to “building green”: developers, architects, government regulators, and tens of thousands of workers. Smart New Yorkers aren’t alone in believing that wood is a durable and environmentally sound building product: The 15 research universities that comprise the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Products concluded that wood – not steel – taps less overall energy, is more benign on air and water quality, and strengthens efforts to arrest global warming.

Another issue not fully understood by the council is that their proposed new standards would hurt the two largest sustainable forestry programs in America. By insisting that credits be given only to those products certified by a European-run group – not the two respected American organizations – the council is threatening the livelihood of thousands of American workers and their families by declaring the vast majority of wood harvested in America off-limits.

Finally, the standards on which council proponents based their legislation are fundamentally flawed. Don’t take my word for it: Take the word of experts. The National Institute of Science and Technology, the Department of Commerce agency that sets the technical standards for all sorts of products and services, determined two years ago that standards nearly identical to those proposed by council members did not properly take into account environmental impact. NIST ruled that criteria similar to that under consideration by the council were arbitrary, emphasized cost rather than environmental protection, lacked measurable baselines for improvement, and failed to assess different building characteristics. In other words, NIST said, standards like those being pushed by certain council members didn’t make environmental or economic sense.

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters has a better idea. It’s called Green Globes. It’s a green management tool that’s been effectively used throughout Canada and has now been introduced in America. It provides developers, builders, and architects with a guide and a rating system to ensure that environmentally friendly standards become the norm – not the exception.

Green Globes is both affordable and user friendly. It will work not only for New York’s bigger commercial builders, but also for smaller builders and developers. Office parks, multifamily housing, schools, and other public and private commercial structures would all benefit.

Most significantly, Green Globes recognizes all credible sustainable forestry certification systems – not just one used predominantly in Europe. It would put North American wood products back on much stronger competitive footing and would encourage and reward the responsible use of thousands of acres of forestland and tree farms in New York State.

The council needs to understand that as presently drafted, Int. 324-A isn’t “green” – it’s more like a disagreeable shade of yellow. To restore deeper hues, the council needs to adopt standards such as Green Globes that truly safeguard our environment. Shortchanging America’s environment while jeopardizing the jobs of tens of thousands of workers isn’t a good idea for New York City’s council – and certainly isn’t green.

Mr. Forde is executive secretary treasurer of the New York City District Council of Carpenters.