The Home Depot recently announced that it will require that any wood products coming from the Amazon and Congo basins to be Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. Though less than 1% of the company’s existing wood products come from these areas, the company announced this policy update in its 2017 Responsibility Report.

The report also unveiled newly-strengthened chemical oversight practices in five product categories, including paint, carpet, vinyl and laminate flooring, and insulation. The chemical strategy includes commitments to increase the assortment of products that have transparency of product ingredients and third party certification of chemical ingredients.

The company also said it is committed to working with suppliers to improve chemicals in categories with the greatest potential impact to indoor air quality, and will conduct annual reviews of product categories to track progress and drive innovation. The company partners with the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council, Healthy Building Network and Cradle-to-Cradle for guidance on priority chemicals and innovations. The Home Depot is also expanding its Eco Options program to include the third party certification programs Cradle-to-Cradle Certified and Greenguard Gold.

"We recognize the role we play in the value chain for home improvement products, especially lumber and manufactured goods," said Ron Jarvis, vice president of environmental innovation. "We believe that better transparency is the key to retailers and consumers making better purchasing decisions that will improve our industry's long-term environmental impact."

For more information, visit www.homedepot.com.