A very Finnish thing’: Big sand battery to store
Green Certification Services
GECA's specialties and services include: - Third party certification and ecolabelling - Life-cycle Assessment. - Standards Development - Sustainable Products Database - Consultation and Advisory Services - Sustainable Procurement - Education & Training - Events, Corporate and Community Engagement - Helping businesses add trust and credibility to their product and or service environmental claims.
Green Certification Services
Australia
Suite G01 15 Belvoir Street , Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) has released the updated and significantly revised versions of its two furniture standards. Both standards have been officially recognised by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), with the Furniture, Fittings, Foam and Mattresses standard at Level A and the Furniture and Fittings standard at Level B.
“Currently, more than three-quarters of all GECA certified products fall under one of the two furniture standards,” said GECA’s Standards and Technical Manager, Shaila Divakarla. “It’s great to see so many furniture and fittings manufacturers on the market who are committed to making products with lower environmental, health and social impacts – and we’re very excited to see a growing interest in certification from mattress manufacturers.”
Key changes to the standards include:
The manufacture, use and disposal of furniture products can have a negative environmental impact caused by anything from the choice of raw materials used, to coatings, textiles, and adhesives. Manufacturers may use hazardous treatments or may be managing their energy and water use poorly during production. GECA certification demonstrates that a product meets strict criteria for environmental, health and social impacts.
The updated standards have been developed following a public comment period and consultations with industry professionals on the Technical Advisory Group.
To request a copy of the standard, please register your details here.
Show more ▼
Emma Berthold
Developing a sustainable procurement policy is an important and worthy goal for any organisation or business. It’s not just about buying the eco-friendliest products out there – sustainable procurement means taking the social and economic impacts of purchased goods and services into account, along with their environmental footprint.
Through sustainable procurement, your organisation can build resilience and become future proofed through increased efficiency and effectiveness. A policy will benefit your bottom line and help you to manage supply chain risk, so it’s a win for your business as well as for the planet and the people on it.
So, where do you start? And – more importantly – how can policymakers know what sustainable or “green” procurement even means?
When you don’t have experience with sustainable purchasing or an understanding of the complex issues surrounding it, it can be challenging to know what sort of criteria to include in a sustainable procurement policy document, or which products and services meet all those criteria.
So, we’ve put together this handy guide to help get you started!
When writing your policy, keep your organisation’s top sustainability priorities in mind, making sure these are clearly defined and aligned with your organisation’s core values. Sometimes it may not be feasible to try to meet every possiblesustainable goal.
Some businesses may place a higher value on lowering their environmental impact, while others may be drawn to labour practices or human rights issues. Ultimately, every policy should include a requirement for continual improvement towards meeting sustainability goals.
Once priorities have been set, it’s time to identify the potential environmental, health and social impacts of products and services, as well as the risks. This is where other standards organisations can help.
The new ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Standard, for instance, was published mid-2017. The standard provides a thorough understanding of the sustainability considerations that must be considered across all areas of procurement, from policy to organisation to processes, and provides guidance for how these can be implemented on a practical level.
Independent certification is the only way to make sure you are genuinely buying sustainable products, thanks to the built-in auditing and assurance processes.
Key qualities to look for in an ecolabel are:
independence;
transparency and consistency in its standards; and
third party accreditation and verification processes (where the verification and licencing agencies are also independent of one another).
Ecolabels like GECA can fit perfectly into sustainable procurement policies, considering that certifying bodies have most likely done all the work for you in determining whether a product meets certain sustainability criteria. GECA’s standards documents, for example, contain detailed criteria for environmental, health and social performance, as well as including criteria that ensures products are fit for purpose.
Another useful resource is the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN), which is a non-profit association of leading ecolabelling organisations spread across 57 countries and territories. GECA is proud to be the only Australian member of GEN. With so many certified products available, there has never been a better time for organisations and businesses to start creating a sustainable procurement policy.
Finally, make sure you keep accurate records of all purchasing decisions for future reference. These are important for measuring progress against your sustainable purchasing goals, managing risk, and for informing any ongoing development of your policy document. It’s also important to communicate your purchasing decisions to stakeholders, establishing your organisation’s reputation for responsible procurement and building trust.
**
If you’re ready to start working on developing or updating your sustainable procurement policy, don’t do it alone – sign up with the GECA Positive Procurement Pledge! You’ll have the support of a trusted ecolabelling organisation behind you, with access to expert advice, a community of fellow pledgers, and plenty of marketing benefits too. Find out more at gecapledge.eco
Show more ▼
GECA
The GECA ‘Materials in Mind’ pod is an interactive showcase of beautiful and functional GECA Certified building materials and furniture, all inside a uniquely repurposed 20ft (6×2.2m) used shipping container.
Visitors can interact with the pod via the built-in educational elements, which outline the key environmental, health and social issues associated with different building materials.
Materials In Mind was first launched at Sydney Indesign, and was very popular with visitors to the event. “Visitors loved the design and look of the container and enjoyed the interactive elements of learning more about what environmental, health and social criteria to look for in a material or product,” said GECA’s Marketing Manager, Paula Clasby.
Throughout the built environment and interior design industries, there is an increasing focus on the environmental impact, social responsibility and the safety of products and materials. A transparent, ethical and sustainable supply chain is essential for manufacturers in today’s industry – but how can architects, specifiers and consumers know which products are best?
The interactive showcase of sustainable building materials regularly travels to exhibitions and events throughout the year. To keep up to date with where you can next see the pod for yourself, subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
GECA would like to thank all involved in the creation of Materials in Mind, including Kebony, Astec Paints, BGC Plasterboard, Spectrum Floors, Grass-cel, Regupol, Zenith Interiors, The Bold Collective, Caen Creative and Randwick City Council.
Interior
Floor – Artigo/Spectrum Zero 4 rubber floor tiles by Spectrum Floors
Plasterboard – Impact Board by BGC Plasterboard
Paint – Energy Star AC3 Primer and Energy Star DG IR by Astec Paints
Furniture – Conic Chairs, Edo Lounge, Miles chair and Sundatables by Zenith Interiors
Mat – Everroll Recycled Rubber by Regupol
Exterior
Timber – Kebony Radiata Range by Kebony (Supplied by Mafi)
Paint – Energy Star AC3 Primer and Energy Star DG IR by Astec Paints
Green Roof System – Grass-cel by Grass-cel. Roof Plants: Native Pigface
Show more ▼
GECA
Kate Harris this week joined ASBEC as its new Executive Member, joining Romilly Madew, CEO GBCA, Luke Menzel, CEO Energy Efficiency Council, Nicholas Burt, CEO FMAA, Ken Morrison, CEO Property Council of Australia, Monica Richter, Business and Industry Engagement Manager, Climate Change Program, Phil Wilkinson, Executive Manager – Government Relations AIRAH, President Ken Maher, Executive Director Suzanne Toumbourou, and Antony Sprigg, CEO ISCA.
The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) is the peak body of key organisations committed to a sustainable built environment in Australia.
Kate Harris is looking forward to working more closely with ASBEC and championing the importance and uptake of sustainable materials and products in the built environment.
Show more ▼
Tim Worthington
DirectorIt is always a pleasure working with all the team members from GECA. We offer our support and which GECA huge success with their Positive Procurement pledge
Show more ▼
Marketing Manager
[email protected]Paula is a marketing professional with extensive experience in business strategy, communication and project management. She has worked in various roles (including corporate health and safety, advertising, marketing and hospitality), that involved delivering creative direction and marketing management. Her interest in health and environmental issues saw Paula working in corporate health for ten years, in a mix of management, marketing and editorial roles and playing an integral part in corporate health change. Paula draws on her skills and strong interest in environmental and health issues to market GECA’s vision for a society in which people demand sustainable products and services.
Show more ▼
CEO
[email protected]Kate brings to GECA an extensive background in leadership, capacity building and education aimed at finding sustainable solutions for the future. Kate previously spent six years with the Centre for Sustainability Leadership, including two years as CEO, and two years as non-executive director. She is currently a Non-Executive Director of the Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (ALCAS) and Living Future Institute Australia, as well as being an Executive Member of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC). She is also the founder of consulting firm Future Ready and a graduate of the Asialink Leaders Program. Kate believes passionately in human potential and draws on her diverse experience in the performing arts, executive coaching, cultural change and organisational development, helping individuals, organisations and communities to create a better future. She has held a variety of management, organisational and coaching roles, and has been an ambassador for 1 Million Women and on the Advisory Board for Pollinate Energy.
Show more ▼
No products found.