DesignBUILD Showcase for ecospecifier’s Global Green Tag

David Baggs presented the Ecospecifier Global GreenTag as a world first LCA rating system for green building products in Melbourne this week, before more than over 350 exhibitors, leading industry speakers and thousands of new, innovative and sustainable products assembled at Australia’s premier DesignBUILD event.

DesignBUILD announcement:

Over 350 exhibitors, leading industry speakers and thousands of new, innovative and sustainable products is what DesignBUILD is offering the building industry in Melbourne.

The trade and professional only expo will run at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre June 23 – 25 and is collocated with the CEDIA Expo and the Plumbing Design Show.

Exhibition Manager Steve Horsley said it’s often hard for trades and professionals to find the time to stay on top of industry trends, policies, case studies and new products and ideas but the industry has access to it all at DesignBUILD 2010.

The expo boasts an impressive array of information including the DesignBUILD – A Catalyst for Change seminars, the Next Productivity Wave seminar, the Full Frontal Tile and Stone seminar, the National Plumbing Forum, an Italian pavilion and finalist BDAV designs on display.

“Our aim was to bring education and information important to the growth and sustainability of the design, building and construction industries under one roof.

“DesignBUILD has now become Australia’s largest trade and professional expo, designed purely to benefit the industry andthe businesses within them by encouraging thought sharing and collaboration,” he said.

The DesignBUILD seminar series – A Catalyst for Change, runs over the course of the three day expo and each seminar carries 1 CPD point.

Strong emphasis has been placed on providing a big picture overview, and state of mind subjects, such as customer experience strategies, good design, green and sustainable building practises, developments and communities, that have the wherewithal to change market and workplace dynamics overnight.

The Next Productivity Wave seminar and workshop will explore current and future trends and practices in BIM methods and techniques, case studies, features and benefits and cover the launch of GreenTag.

With over 100 new products scheduled for release at DesignBUILD, trades and professionals who are keen to browse and compare new products in their own time can visit Innovation Alley, where seeing the latest in the industry is as easy as window shopping.

Between the Green Building Zone partnered by ecospecifier, The Outdoor Design Zone partnered by Outdoor Design Source, the Tools and Safety Zone partnered by Building Contractor Magazine and the selector.com.au

Best Product Award, trades and professionals will walk away from DesignBUILD at the forefront of the industry.

Those looking for design inspiration can view works by Building Designers Association of Victoria (BDAV) award finalists and speak to the finalists, some of whom will also be available onsite daily between 12 – 2pm daily.

The Phillip Johnson Landscape Architect feature will showcase urban landscape design in a full scale onsite setting, while the Blackwood’s Tools of the Trade and the BPN/Infolink Applications in Action feature interactive audience demonstrations and give trades and professionals the chance to see and use the newest products in the market.

This year will also see the introduction of Foundations, a dedicated seminar supporting and honouring students and apprentices – our work force of the future.

The Italian Trade Commission have also organised visitors from Rome who will bring with them the latest in stone and tile fashion never before seen in Australia.

DesignBUILD international will run with the support of Austrade to connect exhibitors with international building and construction companies, while all exhibitors and guests will be able to network in the RMAX Builders Bar.

View the full seminar series timetable online and make sure you register to receive your complimentary ticket -

Source: www.designbuildexpo.com.au

GREEN TAG™ assesses products against worst case business as usual products in the same functional category and with the same functional purpose, based on the following impacts/benefits:

• building design synergy
• greenhouse emission point
• human health& eco-toxicity
• life cycle impact
• biodiversity and
• resource consumption
• corporate social responsibility

GREEN TAG™ BRONZE is an equivalent standard to some ecolabels in the market and generally considers a product to be in the top 25% of the market based on assessment of the above issues.

GREEN TAG™ SILVER is a higher standard than most ecolabels  in the market and considers a product to be in the top 20% of the market based on assessment of the above issues.

GREEN TAG™ GOLD is a significantly higher standard than most ecolabels  in the market and considers a product to be in the top 15% of the market based on assessment of the above issues.

GREEN TAG™ PLATINUM is the highest standard in the market and considers a product to be in the top 10% of the market based on assessment of the above issues.

ecospecifier’s GreenTag™’s GreenRate Process is now an authorised third party certification scheme approved by the the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) for use by manufacturers wanting certification under Green Star™* Materials Calculator credits.

GreenTag™ is an efficient one-stop Certification solution for the whole industry-it will speed up product research and planning processes in the specification and purchase of green building products.

Because of the synergistic benefits GreenTag delivers to the market and manufacturers of green building products, ecospecifier expects that GreenTag™ will become the benchmark for green products vying for selection in buildings to be approved by the Green Star™ system, awarded by GBCA in Australia and New Zealand as GBCNZ now accredits all GBCA third party approved products.

GreenTag™ also provides manufactures the option to have products assessed against other green building schemes around Australia, including NABERS, BASIX, BCA and overseas schemes, including LEED (USA, Canada, India, China, Italy and approximately 87 other countries), BREEAM (UK, Middle East and Europe), Estidama Pearl (Abu Dhabi), Green Building Index(Malaysia) and Green Mark (Singapore). 

The Life Cycle Assessment inherent in the GreenTag™ is particularly important as it determines the environmental and health impacts of a product from the sourcing and refining of its raw materials, transport, manufacturing, disposal, including reuse, recycling, operations and maintenance, over the whole life of the product.

At the Design Build seminar, David Baggs of Ecospecifier:

This presentation describes how the ecospecifier Global GREENTAG™ life cycle assessment (LCA) based product certification and rating system brings LCA into a BIM context and launches product specific real time eco-profiling of buildings as an economic design/scenario review tool via LCADesign software.

The presentation explains how GREENTAG™ also provides third party certification for Green Building Council of Australia accredited Green Star™  Materials Calculator credit point rating via its ‘GreenRate’ certification process.

A passionate advocate for sustainable futures in the built environment, David heads up a world leading Green Building Solutions consulting team, ecospecifier Global’s green product research hub and GreenTag™ certification program to help progress sustainability in the global construction industry.

Ecospecifier Global GreenTag™ is a world first LCA rating system for green Building products that is also an accredited third party certification system for Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star™* Materials Calculator credits.

Source: www.ecospecifier.org