The American Wood Council (AWC) is committed to ensuring a safe and resilient built environment. They are responsible for the development of codes, standards and regulations, design tools, and guidelines for wood construction that allow for the appropriate and responsible manufacture and use of wood products.
This ensures that building codes and other standards and regulations remain receptive and favorable to wood. In support, the AWC develops and disseminates consensus standards, comprehensive technical guidelines, and tools for wood design and construction, as well as providing education on their application.
Codes and standards work grows opportunities for light-frame construction and mass timber.
In the face of stiff competition from alternative materials in both residential and non-residential construction, the AWC’s engineers and building and fire-code experts work to maintain and expand market opportunities for wood. The AWC led, with funding support from the SLB and U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, the successful industry effort for taller mass timber buildings up to 18 stories in the 2021 and 2024 International Building Code.
In the 2027 I-Code cycle, the AWC helped defeat a concrete-industry proposal that would have reduced the amount of exposed wood permitted in Type IV-B mass timber ceilings. At the same time, several AWC-backed changes that expand wood use were approved. The 2027 codes will recognize the AWC’s Fire Design Specification as an option for determining acceptable heavy timber sizes, add new provisions for salvage lumber, update span tables for lumber headers and rafters, and strengthen recognition of wood-based floor framing and platform construction.
AWC standards protect market access and safe construction.
The AWC is protecting the safe use of North American lumber by engaging with building standards that influence market acceptance and regulatory compliance. For example, the AWC is engaged in many ASTM standards that directly influence the wood products industry. The AWC’s leadership and participation in ASTM standards ensures the provisions are performance-based and fair, ultimately safeguarding wood products’ competitiveness and reinforcing confidence in wood as a trusted, safe building material.
Fire service engagement protects lumber markets.
Fire service leaders shape how wood construction is understood, accepted, and ultimately used. When equipped with technical information, they become some of the most credible voices for safe wood construction. That’s why the AWC‘s fire service engagement is an important part of its strategy to support market opportunities for wood construction. The decisions being made now on mass timber, WUI regulations, and more have real market consequences, and the AWC’s relationships with fire services and marshals across the United States is critical to safeguarding and growing markets for wood products.