24 March 2007

Know your green certifications

With the number of green products and services available growing by the day, we thought it would be useful to provide an outline of the green certifications that are increasingly being used to market products or services.







T
he Good Environmental Choice label is run by a not for profit organisation who utilise a national network of registered assessors. The program awards the label for recognition for products that meet standards of environmental, quality and social performance.






Greensmart is a scheme run by the Housing Industry Association which showcases builders who utilise green processes and principles in the construction new homes and alterations and additions.






Eco select is a brand created by the Timber Promotion Council (TPC) Victoria, Australia. The brand is used to highlight local timber that is responsibly harvested from sustainably managed forests, giving consumers a choice over imported timbers which may be sourced through exploitative means
.






The
Forest Stewardship Council is an International organisation which was created to represent the world’s strongest system for sustainable forest management. FSC standards for forest management have now been adopted by over 57 countries around the world.

















The Greenguard Environmental Institute is an independent, not for profit US body who overseas the Greenguard Certification Program. The Program is a certification scheme for low emitting products and materials w
hich are tested against the US Environmental Protection Agency's specifications and the recommendations from the World Health Organization.





The Green Building Council is a not for profit organisation who's objectives are to encourage sustainability by promoting green building programs, technologies, design practices and operations. Their focus is on predominantly commercial, industrial and institutional buildings.