Noose tightens on Green Building Council

Regular readers will know this magazine is no friend of green building councils that discriminate against all forms of timber except those carrying the FSC stamp of sustainability (Life Cycle Paralysis, p30 timberDESIGN Spring 2009).

In November the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) came under unprecedented and, hopefully, policy-changing pressure from the Federal Government and two states to give equal recognition to all credible forestry certification schemes.

As things stand the GBCA (and the equivalent organisation in New Zealand), which oversees the green building credit rating system, recognises well-managed plantations with FSC accreditation. In the New Zealand context, where almost all of the commercial wood is plantation-grown, that is much less of a problem. But in Australia it is a serious discrimination.

Given that there is very little FSC- certified hardwood in Australia, by making FSC the only points-scoring sustainability benchmark, the GBCA is actually saying
it does not recognise well-managed native regrowth forests. It also means
the council accredits one international forestry certification scheme, but not the equally credible and also internationally accepted Australian Forestry Certification Scheme (AFS).

This has apparently resulted in Australian companies with AFS-certified timber (mainly flooring and veneers) missing out on multi-million-dollar contracts to imported wood products with FSC accreditation, some from countries where such labeling is not always what it seems.

Federal and state politicians have given the council clear warning they won’t tolerate other than equal recognition. The Queensland Government has gone a step further by suspending all Green Star timber rating points on its Public Works projects until the matter is resolved. While the move is a measure of political annoyance with the GBCA, it could also be counter-productive for wood if specifiers turn instead to star-carrying substitute materials. The Victorian Government is also demanding equal Green Star recognition of credible forestry certification schemes.

The good news is this story and lots of other design-and-build developments can now be followed on our all-new website: www.neilsonpromotions.com. We have brought both of our magazines, timberDESIGN and In-Wood Australasia, under one roof and added a lot of interesting new features and services. (Old hands can also get to the new site via www.timberdesignmag.com or www.inwoodmag.com)

Subscribers will be able to view fast-loading, high-resolution e-Zines, breaking daily news, excellent wood products and services procurement facilities and regularly updated information about coming industry events.

There are also e-Newsletters for each magazine, where subscribers receive exclusive articles and alerts to news and information additional to the printed magazines. The content is original and crafted by our own professional writers.

Early next year, we will be adding a photo gallery where low-cost project and category images can be viewed and downloaded.

It goes without saying that 2009 has been another tough year for people in the design, build and related sectors. But the reliable market-watchers are predicting a modest upswing next year. And if that doesn’t eventuate, my advice would be: head for Brazil – it is soon expected to be one of the world’s top five economies, and the natives are far from revolting.

Best wishes for 2010.

Tony Neilson