In 2001, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, which claims 5,000 members worldwide, helped form a certification council.
In December, the state government asked the Organic Industry Standards and Certification Council to increase the GM tolerance level from zero to 0.9%, but the application was rejected.
The state's commissioner of higher education, Raymund A. Paredes, said late Monday that he was aware of the institute's opposition to evolution but was withholding judgment until the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board meets Jan . 24to rule on the recommendation, made last Friday, by the board's certification advisory council.
No fishery has ever been denied certification by the council once it was recommended for it, although adjudicators have regularly required remedial action.
DRHorton Homes, one of the largest home builders in the nation, for example, is seeking council certification for every unit in a 100-home subdivision in Sacramento.
Susan Forsell, McDonald's vice president for sustainability, said that under the company's own in-house sustainable fisheries program, which began 10 years ago, 100 percent of McDonald's fish is already purchased from fisheries that have received stewardship council certification.
The United States Green Building Council's certification program is five years old with 231 certified buildings, according to Taryn Holowka, a spokeswoman for the council.
Without the council's certification of Tasmania's forest management practices, foreign markets spooked by the bad old days could stay out of reach.
Mr. Izhakoff said the council's certification proposal, ensuring that diamonds reaching the markets were exported under strict controls, was intended "to create a conflict-free rough diamond zone" that would affect the entire business.
Water quality will be monitored at certified beaches, he said, and if they no longer meet E.P.A. standards, the Blue Wave flag that designates the council's certification must be taken down.
The World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, an independent international body assembled after the 1992 earth summit in Rio, has recommended a raft of multilateral measures to conserve forests, from the establishment of a "forest security council" to certification of wood products derived legally from "sustainable" forests.
