Interview With NSC President Brenda Edwards of Texastone Quarries
What are some of your goals in your new position at the Natural Stone Council (NSC)?
My goals in this new position are to keep the visibility of the NSC in front of the entire stone industry and flood the construction market with stone information. To keep the enthusiasm high amongst the industry, both domestic and international, in order to achieve our certification standard and to communicate clearly our sustainability initiatives. To direct our mission to the best of my ability.
In its “new” scope, what are some of the NSC’s long-term goals?
Our long-term goal is to build a credible certification program for natural stone. The Dimensional Stone Standard is being developed through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-based multi-stakeholder process under the leadership of Jack Geibig, President of Ecoform, in partnership with the National Sanitary Foundation (NSF). In addition to the standard, the NSC will continue, with the stone industry, in creating a detailed verification and compliance protocol. We will help build and launch a Natural Stone Certification and help in the development and branding of an ecolabel, in hopes of having a “genuine stone” [label] on each piece of natural stone in the U.S.
What are some short-term goals?
To revamp the NSC Web site. Our current Web site has valuable data, but most of it is buried so deep that you can’t find it. To produce a new video that can be distributed to stone companies -- telling the NSC initiatives and benefits of the NSC. To raise enough money, to not only fund the standard development process, but to carry us through the verification and compliance protocol. After these goals are reached, I’m sure we can find new initatives to work toward. There have been new committees formed, with enthusiasic and energetic people that have volunteered to work on each committee. I have all the faith in the world that these tasks will be accomplished.
For members of the stone industry, why is it important that they contribute to the NSC? What are the benefits?
The standard, the verification, compliance protocol and certification processes are costly, and we need the industry’s help funding these programs. The benefits are to position natural stone as the preferred green building product with architects and design professionals. To increase the understanding of, preference for and consumption of Genuine Stone in residential and commercial applications.
My goals in this new position are to keep the visibility of the NSC in front of the entire stone industry and flood the construction market with stone information. To keep the enthusiasm high amongst the industry, both domestic and international, in order to achieve our certification standard and to communicate clearly our sustainability initiatives. To direct our mission to the best of my ability.
In its “new” scope, what are some of the NSC’s long-term goals?
Our long-term goal is to build a credible certification program for natural stone. The Dimensional Stone Standard is being developed through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-based multi-stakeholder process under the leadership of Jack Geibig, President of Ecoform, in partnership with the National Sanitary Foundation (NSF). In addition to the standard, the NSC will continue, with the stone industry, in creating a detailed verification and compliance protocol. We will help build and launch a Natural Stone Certification and help in the development and branding of an ecolabel, in hopes of having a “genuine stone” [label] on each piece of natural stone in the U.S.
What are some short-term goals?
To revamp the NSC Web site. Our current Web site has valuable data, but most of it is buried so deep that you can’t find it. To produce a new video that can be distributed to stone companies -- telling the NSC initiatives and benefits of the NSC. To raise enough money, to not only fund the standard development process, but to carry us through the verification and compliance protocol. After these goals are reached, I’m sure we can find new initatives to work toward. There have been new committees formed, with enthusiasic and energetic people that have volunteered to work on each committee. I have all the faith in the world that these tasks will be accomplished.
For members of the stone industry, why is it important that they contribute to the NSC? What are the benefits?
The standard, the verification, compliance protocol and certification processes are costly, and we need the industry’s help funding these programs. The benefits are to position natural stone as the preferred green building product with architects and design professionals. To increase the understanding of, preference for and consumption of Genuine Stone in residential and commercial applications.
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