FSC loses Green Star monopoly

The back down didn’t come without a fight – including intervention by federal forestry minister Tony Burke and both the Queensland and Victoria state governments threatening to sideline the scheme on public buildings.

But now there is a level playing field and the Green Building Council of Australia has opened its timber credits to other third party certification schemes – including the PEFC-backed Australian Forestry Standard (AFS).

“This means that projects using timber from any scheme, including AFS, will be eligible for points through the credit, so long as the scheme has applied for and met the essential criteria,” says GBCA chief executive Romilly Madew.