GECA seeks feedback for new ecolabelling standards

Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA), which runs an independent, not-for-profit ecolabelling program, develops standards against which products can be audited by GECA’s JAS-ANZ accredited conformance assessment bodies (CABs). The company is now seeking feedback from developers, manufacturers and infrastructure project teams on which additional standards it should develop to help projects earn points under the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia’s (ISCA) IS rating scheme.

The scheme awards ratings to infrastructure projects at various stages of development, from planning and design to the operational stage, to demonstrate sustainability performance. This serves to reward procurement and use of major materials that have environmental labels or are from sustainable supply chains.

Under the Mat-2 credit in the Materials category, points are awarded for projects seeking ‘As Built’ and ‘Operation’ ratings that use products from environmental labelling schemes, including GECA certified products. Points are awarded based on the number or percentage of materials used that are certified:

• Level 1 (0.25 points): One material/product is, eg, GECA certified.
• Level 2 (0.50 points): 10-20% of materials/products by value are, eg, GECA certified.
• Level 3 (0.75 points): >20% of materials/products by value are, eg, GECA certified.

Current GECA standards that can contribute to points under the IS rating tool include:

• Panel boards: eg, BGC panel boards; Boral plasterboard; CSR Gyprock products.
• Floor coverings: eg, JustMats RolaDek aluminium matting system; Regupol Everroll recycled rubber flooring.
• Furniture, fittings and foam: eg, Madinoz door handles; Studform aluminium partitioning systems and doors; Hufcor and Kyissa toilet cubicles and partitioning.
• Paints and coatings: eg, Ecolour paints; Rockcote Enterprises exterior architectural paints.
• Thermal building insulation materials: eg, Fletcher insulation; Siam Fiberglass.
• Environmentally innovative products: eg, CSR aerated concrete  blocks, floor and walls; Termicide Pest Control recycled glass termite barrier.

GECA welcomes suggestions for new categories to develop applicable standards and help infrastructure projects achieve better IS ratings. Please email info@geca.org.au or call 02 9699 2850.

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