BUILD October 2017 (Global GreenTag Pty Ltd)

10 BUILD / October 2017 , “GreenTag introduced for the first time a ‘beyond LCA’ system of certification, which supplements ‘Cradle to Fate’ life cycle analysis with additional deep assessment of product ingredient hazard using the Globally Harmonised System. “In a unique reporting process called GreenTag’s Product Health Declarations (PHDs), not only does the firm assess product ingredient hazards, but also undertakes risk analysis and provides transparent reporting of finished product health assessments for professionals and consumers, taking product health reporting to a unique new level as well. The Global GreenTag CertTM system has also now expanded to include cleaning and personal care products categories and offers the market new ways of understanding as well as comparing products, with the introduction of several new certification service products.” David then reveals how Global GreenTag has become known by progressive manufacturers and how the firm’s work benefits their clients. He also reveals the firm’s main strengths and how they approach the clients they serve. “Global GreenTag has become known by progressive manufacturers, for differentiating their products from their competitors and delivering them the means to meet the certification needs of the market by providing them with a certified product rating, scorecard system and the various evidence needed for rating systems. This clearly delineates them from sub-par and BaU products in the market; noting critical issues from product ingredients, safety and performance, environmental, social and human impacts and most importantly, providing a Certification Mark that is trusted by consumers and professionals alike to make informed product selection and buying decisions. “Critically, GreenTag is the only product rating system in the world (that we are aware of) that fully integrates all aspects of sustainability (human and environmental health, biodiversity, resource use, pollution, climate impacts and corporate social responsibility including worker health as well as employment conditions, slave and child labour and supply chain compliance) in a single rating process that covers the whole life cycle of a product across all sustainability issues. “GreenTag’s strength is its technical basis, which is embedded in green design and its ‘One-Stop’ certification capability for most major tools and credits. One of the major benefits to our clients is our demonstrated capability, to not only understand the market but we have proven we have been able to predict where the industry is heading, often before it knows itself. For example, GreenTag in Australia helped to establish the use of LCA, EPDs and more recently PHDs in product assessment for rating tools as well as the GHS (Globally Harmonised System), for the classification and labelling of chemicals - and globally it has also extended the boundaries of LCA, EPDs and PHDs. “That said, when we work with clients, we make sure that we assist, explain and facilitate the assessment and certification processes, to the extent possible under the relevant ISO standards under which we work (ISO 17065, ISO 14024, ISO 14040-44, ISO 14025 and EN 15804). We recognise we are a service organisation and while remaining the impartial and unbiased assessors we need to be, we nonetheless focus on providing excellent customer service and responsive meaningful communication. We constantly educate and update our clients in the rapidly changing world of green project rating tools, so they can stay current with their markets.” David then provides a glimpse into GreenTag’s future and their role within the wider market. “Our ongoing standard development we believe is crucial to GreenTag’s future success in the certification sector and in addition, a customer focus is pivotal. We have made it our business to have a deep understanding of the issues and as such, we put ourselves in the shoes of all stakeholders. To provide organised knowledge for everyone to trust and be guided by us, is critical. Our overall aim is to protect and regenerate the natural systems and resources, with evolving certification metrics that continue to encourage choice and greater appreciation for certified green products. “We want to increase our relevance to different territories, where interest in sustainable product choices is growing and we are looking at Asia, China, India and the US to ensure that we are positioned to meet the needs of the changing world market. And the market, we firmly believe, is going to develop from the single use labels towards the rating label system, so people can use that information to enable them to get a lowest per impact per currency value through scientifically validated product data. “Although we are product certifiers, we also increasingly perceive ourselves as facilitators who innovate solutions, through the development of certification products that enable us to do everything we can do to facilitate fast assessment and enhance communication between manufacturers, suppliers and their green markets.” Ultimately, Global GreenTag is not just in the industry of certification, David tells us. They are in the industry of trust building, which means listening and responding to the evolving needs of all stakeholders and offering a certification standard, that continues to grow with those needs. “Essentially, we are committed to deliver simple and easy to understand Marks and Scorecards backed by deep and meaningful data, which make people’s personal and professional decision-making processes easier, more productive and easier to navigate, when they are looking for assistance in reducing product environmental, social and health impacts. Our aim is to make it easier for people to tread lightly. “Whether that be to increase worker productivity, so that business owners can specify healthy products and create healthier working environments, or to provide people with information they can trust and the confidence that their workers or families are not getting sick through products that are brought into the home or office. Improving access to this level of product information, is crucial and we are always looking at more effective ways for people to engage with both technical and scientific information. “For the built environment, it is reasonable to say that we are focused on providing a cascading level of detail for specifications and designers and as such, LCA consultants to use at whatever level they need for specification. Right now, we do this by providing a tiered rating ‘Tag and for LCRate™ certified products, a Scorecard that provides an overall ‘GreenTag EcoPOINT’ score and individual EcoPoint scores, for each of the six sustainability criteria. Add to this EPDs, which provides detailed sustainability analysis via LCA endpoint data across 10 impact categories and separate PHD health ratings, that are based on the globally harmonised system of chemical identification and labelling, and you have a comprehensive set of Marks and reporting (credit evidence). Which means GreenTag is a unique ‘single source’ certification for most of the world’s major building, interiors and infrastructure rating tools and credits. “And finally, staying ethical ourselves as a certification label, is of paramount importance. Each year, Global GreenTag’s internal processes undergoes external independent auditing under multiple standards- to demonstrate the same high- level of scrutiny for accuracy, transparency and disclosure that we place on products and take manufacturers through. It is important that we not only walk the talk but are independently certified in doing so.”