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Good Environmental Choice Australia Ltd

March 2010 Newsletter from Good Environmental Choice Australia


GECA Welcomes new CEO
GECA is pleased to welcome Judy Hollingworth, our newly appointed Chief Executive Officer.

Judy brings to GECA a wealth of knowledge in organisational policy and operation, gained from her experience in areas as diverse as e-commerce, financial services, foreign affairs and trade, as well as urban planning, community housing, and architecture.

After 15 years of work with Federal Government Judy moved into the private sector, firstly into financial services then to managing professional services firms. More recently however, Judy has focused her work in management consulting. For the past year or so she has consulted to the not-for-profit sector, advising CEOs and Boards on policy, business strategy, service delivery, governance and risk management matters.

On joining GECA Judy said that: 'I am delighted to be working with GECA , its licensees and partners. These are businesses, organisations and individuals who are determined to reduce environmental impact - a passion of mine'.

I love the power of Ecolabelling in delivering practical outcomes. Together we are having a demonstrable impact on sustainability in Australia and we are making good environmental choices a credible, proven, 'no-greenwash' reality in the Australian economy", Judy says.

GECA Chair, Jack Josephson said 'the appointment of Judy Hollingworth as the Chief Executive is another exciting step in GECA's push to strengthen its position and grow with the continued demand for Ecolabelling'.

Jack also paid tribute to the organisation's outgoing CEO, Ian Higgins: 'Ian Higgins has made an invaluable contribution to re-structuring the organisation. We wish to thank Ian sincerely for all of his achievements in setting the groundwork for growth'.

GECA applies for continued GBCA Recognition
GECA has submitted two new standards for recognition by GBCA, for Furniture and Fittings and Carpets. GECA will soon be submitting three additional standards for recognition - for Panel Boards, Flooring and Innovative Products. In developing these new standards GECA continues to work closely with industry and other stakeholders to recognise further developments in environmental leadership for Australian manufacturers.

GECA wishes to confirm that the GBCA has not made any determinations regarding the recognition of standards systems other than the GECA standards and any claims suggesting this are incorrect.

What the GBCA Recognition Process means for GECA licensees
The following statement has been provided by the GBCA to clarify their process and to respond to unverifiable statements circulating in the market about which schemes will predominate after June 2010:

'Previously, only Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) certified products were 'deemed to satisfy' the requirements of the material calculator credits in Green Star rating tools. The GBCA will continue to recognise GECA certified products during a transition period from 30 June 2009 to 1 July 2010. GECA certified products will continue to be recognised after the transition period provided that GECA and the standards it operates have been assessed against, and have complied with, the full scope of the GBCA Assessment Framework for Product Certification Schemes'.

GECA has already committed to this process, submitting two standards for review with more to be assessed.

'At the end of the transition period, the GBCA will only recognise certification schemes and standards that have undergone assessment according to the full scope of the Framework and achieved the required status.'

'The GBCA lists all recognised schemes on its website and can confirm that unless a scheme is listed as recognised at http://www.gbca.org.au/green-star/materials-category/ then claims made by that scheme cannot be verified

Other applicant schemes have been able to make a submission against the full scope of the Framework since 15 July 2009, but only schemes and standards that are relevant to the fitout product applications referenced in the Green Star Material Calculators (Furniture, Flooring, Joinery, Walls, etc.) are eligible for assessment.'

GECA at Green Cities 2010
GECA exhibited at Green Cities 2010 Conference and Expo in February this year, attracting significant traffic to the GECA stand over the two day conference, which was attended by over 1200 delegates.

GECA certified products on display included items by Comcork flooring, Dexion Office, Therapod Seating Systems, Macquarie Textiles, Rapid Response Property Services and Verosol.

During the two days we were able to:

  • Expand market awareness about the GECA program and its important role in sustainable development.
  • Explain how the GECA environmental product standards deliver positive environmental outcomes using your products as an example.
  • Communicate the large range of GECA certified products available to the market that make it easier to specify green via discussion and slideshow.
  • Explain the relevance and recognition of the GECA certification in the Green Star Rating System.

2nd Annual Sustainable Supply Chain Forum
The second annual Sustainable Supply Chain forum and workshop was held in Melbourne at the beginning of March. The forum brought together CSR and Supply Chain practitioners to discuss the development of strategies for implementing sustainability within their organisation's value chain.

GECA Standards Manager, Sonya Ku, was a panellist on the topic of Applying standards and Frameworks to Drive Sustainable Procurement Outcomes. The high level of interest in Ecolabelling at the forum clearly demonstrates that there is a role for GECA certified products in making it easier for procurement officers to green their supply chain.

GBCA offers Sydney Master Class Conference
Green Building Council of Australia master classes are designed to provide a greater level of skill to committed green building practitioners. GBCA is pleased to bring a variety of new courses and old favourites to Sydney and Brisbane, following the success of the classes at Green Cities 2010. In Melbourne

Topics will include Modelling Requirements, Green Star Project Management and Impact of Glass on Green Buildings to name a few, and GBCA will also be offering Green Star site tours.

PLEASE NOTE: The GBCA are offering GECA members the GBCA member rate for both the full-day delegates pass or session pass.

Member full day: $550 inc GST; Session Pass: varies

To find out more please visit

http://www.gbca.org.au/events.asp?eventid=1168&source=events-listing

Changes to the GECA website
The number of GECA licensees continues to grow exponentially. To make it easier for people to find GECA licensees and certified products, GECA has made changes to the product register.

New licencees or companies with updated GECA licences be will highlighted on left hand panel of the Certified Product Register page under the heading 'Latest Certifications'. These will be updated regularly.

To help people validate a product's certification status, GECA Licences that have expired will also be highlighted on the website.

Visit http://www.geca.org.au/ProductsRegister.htm

Two facilities on the Green Products database have been taken down for updating of design; the Browse Products facility and Manufacturers' login.

http://www.geca.org.au/green-procurement/db-introduction.htm

Do you have news?
If you have news that you think other GECA members want to know about, then let us know. You can submit news items for this newsletter to management@geca.org.au

Good Environmental Choice Australia Ltd

Canberra    Sydney
PO Box 4140     88 Pitt Street  
Weston         Redfern
ACT 2611    NSW 2016
Ph: 02 6287 3100   Ph: 02 8284 7783
Fax: 02 6287 3800  Fax: 02 6287 3800



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