Standards & Compliance Briefing: SFI, LEED, Green Building Initiative, ISO Packaging

by | May 29, 2012

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Members of Congress sent a letter to the USGBC pressing for the immediate recognition and acceptance of all credible forest management certification systems for qualification under the LEED rating system. The letter is in support of the forestry management practices of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the American Tree Farm System, the groups said.

The fourth comment period for USGBC’s updating of the LEED standards closed yesterday, and the organization announced that balloting will start August 15. In the meantime, it is seeking volunteers to “test drive” the fourth public comment draft, whose changes from previous drafts include measures to address fundamental prerequisite barriers (including energy, water and commissioning), and simplified calculations.

ANSI has completed review and approval of the Green Building Initiative’s revised process for development and maintenance of consensus standards for environmentally preferable design, construction and upkeep of buildings. The ANSI/GBI 01-2010: Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings is a rating systems for the new construction or major renovation of US commercial buildings, GBI said.

The ISO Committee TC122/SC4 has approved final texts of the ISO world standards on packaging and the environment. The document is in translation, scheduled for publication in October this year. The standards address reuse, material recycling and composting, energy recovery, and optimization of the packaging system, writes Labels and Labeling.

The 22-story Manitoba Hydro Place in Winnipeg has earned LEED Platinum, the first large office tower in Canada to date to receive this level of certification. Compared to an average office tower, the building records reductions in energy use of more than 70 percent, for an estimated energy savings of $500,000 per year, design firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects said.

The Florida Marlins announced that Marlins Park achieved LEED Gold certification for new constructions, a first for a retractable-roof facility. Construction debris was recycled at a rate of 97 percent; 58 percent of all materials came from within a 500-mile radius, and the stadium reduces water use by 52 percent compared to similar facilities, MLB.com writes.

Technology park SmartCity Malta’s SCM01 building has earned LEED Silver certification, the first building in Malta to earn this level of certification. Two additional buildings are pre-certified to the silver rating. The building achieves a 52 percent reduction in annual irrigation water use and 17 percent reduction in energy use, The Malta Independent said.

End-of-life technology waste management company e-Waste has obtained R2 and ISO 14001 certifications. With the addition of the accreditations, the company said that it aims to provide greater accountability to customers in the mitigation of e-waste disposal risks.

Krill oil manufacturer Neptune Technologies & Bioressources has been certified as a Friend of the Sea, which verifies the sustainable origin of marine products. Neptune said that with a third-party audit, the certification can also be extended to distributors.

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