Standards & Compliance Briefing: ISO 14051, GRI for Media, GSA Green Building, ZigBee

by | May 8, 2012

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A new ISO standard, ISO 14051:2011, Environmental Management – Material Flow Cost Accounting, sets up a framework for businesses to reduce costs linked to waste and better understand the environmental and financial consequences of material and energy use practices. The standard aims to improve environmental performance while helping organizations increase profits, ISO said.

GRI has issued new Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for media companies targeting transparency and accountability in the media. The standard includes values such as freedom of expression, and also evaluates  the effect of financial contributions from governments.

The GSA has released its first review of three facilities certification systems – Green Globes, LEED and the International Living Building Challenge – which will help to update the GSA’s green building certification systems to meet federal sustainability requirements for new buildings, major renovations, and upgrades to existing facilities. The agency said it is taking feedback on the report and expects to make its final recommendation in the fall.

The Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative – in partnership with the Green Purchasing Institute – has issued purchasing specifications for compostable biobased food serviceware based on the SBC BioSpecs for food serviceware. The specs have established mandatory product criteria and a set of desirable criteria in grade products.

Networking technology company Ember said that it is one of the first vendors to earn Golden Unit certification for the ZigBee Alliance Light Link standard, which ensures that different vendors will easily connect into a single network.

New Zealand-based GHG certification company carboNZero Holdings said that it is the first non-UK company to offer accredited certification for product carbon footprints under the British Standard Institute’s (BSI) PAS 2050. Businesses can now use carboNZero certification to show that their product is in accordance with PAS 2050 for GHG emissions reduction and offsetting activities, the company said.

DEKRA Certification said that it is the first U.S.-based accredited body to achieve ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board accreditation for the ISO 50001 energy management systems standard.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has earned LEED Silver certification for its Metro North facility in White Plains, N.Y. The building features low-flow water fixtures, high-efficiency lighting and HVAC equipment, and about 72 percent of the total construction debris has been reused during the construction of the building, the World Interior Design Network said.

Lime Energy has completed to LEED Gold specifications its design-build task order for the 15,000-sq.-ft. Dewey Short Visitor Center for the US Army Engineering and Support Center in Huntsville, Ala. The building’s energy efficiency is 35 percent above ASHRAE standards and 83 percent of construction waste was recycled. The project includes enhanced storm water quality management, closed loop geothermal (water to water) HVAC and enhanced systems commissioning, the company said.

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